Barricades, traffic diversions and restrictions on transport and mobile internet affected movement across the capital. Police deployed personnel at key roads and entry points, while drones and body cameras were used for surveillance. At least 7,000 people have been detained by Saturday evening.
CJP leaders Abhijeet Dipke, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were detained inside an aircraft after arriving at Delhi airport from Mumbai. YouTuber Dhruv Rathee was also detained from his Gurugram residence. Students, lawyers, activists and political workers were detained at several locations as they attempted to reach Jantar Mantar.
After the detention of its senior leaders, the CJP called on national organisation in-charge Ajinkya Shinde to continue the protest mobilisation. Shinde urged supporters to march towards Jantar Mantar, saying, “If Delhi Police tries to stop you, wherever they stop you will become your Jantar Mantar.”
Former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan were among the opposition leaders detained. Banerjee later said she had begun a sit-in at Dwarka North police station with Trinamool Congress MPs, alleging that they had been driven around in a prison van for two hours.
Six Delhi Police personnel, including a member of the Pink Force, were reported injured during detentions. Police also reported stone-pelting near Akashwani Bhawan and the Hanuman temple in Connaught Place.
Congress leaders accused the government of suppressing dissent. Mallikarjun Kharge said the government had turned the “Mother of Democracy” into a “Muzzled Democracy”, while Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi criticised the detentions and restrictions. The BJP defended the police action, with Ravi Shankar Prasad saying the country would be “governed by Parliament and not the streets”. By the end of the day, Delhi Police said more than 7,000 protesters had been detained.