Jantar Mantar protest: Delhi Police land at PGs with ‘parental guidance’
Delhi Police have been visiting student hostels and coaching centers to discourage participation in an upcoming protest against the Chief Election Commissioner. Students report that police are using parental pressure and warnings about future employment prospects to deter them from attending.
Why it matters
The incident raises significant concerns regarding the intersection of law enforcement, student activism, and the right to peaceful protest in India.
NEW DELHI: Around dinner time at a paying guest accommodation in north Delhi’s Shakti Nagar, around 50 residents gathered for a routine police session on safety. Instead, a North Campus student alleged, police personnel urged them to stay away from the Oct 10 protest, warning that participation could lead to detention and damage their future employment prospects.“They kept saying our parents had sent us here to study. They said the protest was illegal, that we would be detained if we went and that we would not get jobs in the future,” said a Delhi University student, adding that the address lasted about 25 minutes.Following the Satya Niketan building collapse, police outreach had focused on safety, with an officer sharing contact numbers for assistance. Wednesday’s visit, the student said, was arranged unexpectedly between regular monthly sessions.
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