Multiple ‘Jantar Mantars’ spring up as Delhi shuts
Delhi police implemented a heavy crackdown on protesters, leading to the detention of hundreds and the closure of key city infrastructure. Demonstrators attempted to gather at Jantar Mantar despite strict government restrictions.
Why it matters
The event underscores rising tensions regarding civil liberties and the right to protest in the Indian capital.
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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