Multiple ‘Jantar Mantars’ spring up as Delhi shuts
Delhi police implemented strict security measures and Section 163 to prevent protests at Jantar Mantar, leading to the detention of numerous demonstrators. Protesters attempted to relocate to various sites across the city, resulting in confrontations with law enforcement.
Why it matters
The report highlights tensions regarding civil liberties, freedom of assembly, and the use of police force against youth-led protest movements in India.
The unprecedented crackdown on protesters by Delhi Police and paramilitary forces prompted many youth organisations to shift their demonstrations on Saturday (October 10) to other areas, including the Safdarjung flyover, Dilli Haat, Raj Ghat and various makeshift detention centres in north-west Delhi.
The central part of the national capital was sealed with heavy police deployment and barricading while metro stations, schools, colleges and markets remained closed.
Announcements were made from loudspeakers across central Delhi that Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) was in place and citizens should follow the directions of the police and maintain law and order.
Despite the restrictions, hundreds of protesters continued their attempts to reach the planned protest site – Jantar Mantar – but were stopped by the police, detained, bundled into buses and driven to the city’s outskirts.
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