Multiple ‘Jantar Mantars’ spring up as Delhi shuts

Delhi Police and paramilitary forces unleashed a fierce crackdown on protesters, compelling youth organizations to relocate their demonstrations to various locations across the city, including Safdarjung flyover, Dilli Haat, Raj Ghat, and makeshift detention centers in northwestern Delhi. As the heart of the national capital was sealed off with heavy police presence and barricades, metro stations, schools, colleges, and markets remained shut.

Loudspeakers across central Delhi announced the activation of Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, urging citizens to adhere to police directives and uphold law and order. Despite the restrictions, hundreds of protesters persisted in their attempts to reach the designated protest site – Jantar Mantar – but were thwarted by the police, who promptly detained them, cramming them into buses and transporting them to the city's outskirts.

Smaller groups of four or five protesters, including women and children, also managed to bypass the police and continue their journey. Police brutality was evident as they forcefully pushed back demonstrators attempting to hinder their buses, using batons to maintain control. One 15-year-old protester from Goa recounted the aggressive treatment she and her family endured, including being brutally manhandled and detained.

Members of various youth organizations, such as Disha Students’ Organisation, Naujawan Bharat Sabha, and Revolutionary Workers’ Party of India, convened a protest at Raj Ghat, with around 150 individuals in attendance. However, they too faced detainment, with some members enduring severe manhandling by officers wearing civilian clothing.

Several protesters were hospitalized due to injuries sustained during the arrests. The Students’ Federation of India held a public lecture on the perceived undeclared emergency in India by R. Gopinath, a retired professor, at Bawana detention center, while Rajya Sabha member A.A. Rahim inaugurated a new protest site, "Jantar Mantar 2.0," and launched a hunger strike, demanding accountability from Inspector Pawan Tomar for alleged misconduct and the return of confiscated personal belongings.

At least 12 individuals, including students and advocates, were detained from Raisina Road and held until late at night.