- More than 7,000 detained on Saturday; around 200 more held on Sunday
- RSF says at least 16 journalists detained over the weekend
- MP John Brittas says he was “manhandled, dragged, assaulted” by police
- Supreme Court orders no illegal detention of peaceful protesters
OPPOSITION leaders and journalists have accused Delhi police of heavy-handed tactics during weekend protests against India’s election chief, as the capital braced for a fresh march led by Rahul Gandhi on Monday.
More than 7,000 protesters were detained on Saturday, according to the Press Trust of India, including the leaders of the youth-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and four former chief ministers.
Around 200 more were held on Sunday as students and activists tried to march to the Jantar Mantar protest site.
All India Students Association president Neha Bora, wearing a black shirt, takes part in a march during a protest on October 11, 2026 in New Delhi,.Getty
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said at least 16 journalists had been detained over the weekend, calling the actions “unacceptable”. Several reporters said they were held despite prominently displaying their press cards.
India's Cockroach movement leaders released as opposition vows fresh protests
John Brittas, a Rajya Sabha MP from the Communist Party of India (Marxist), said he was “manhandled, dragged, assaulted” by police on Sunday.
“This is not merely an assault on an MP. It is an assault on democratic freedoms and the rule of law,” he said.
Student leader dragged away
Videos circulating online showed police chasing Neha Bora, president of the All India Students’ Association, before officers caught hold of her and carried her away by her arms and legs as fellow protesters tried to hold on to her.
YouTuber Dhruv Rathee said around 20 people in plain clothes entered his home at about 7am on Saturday while he was asleep and took him to several police stations. He said he was denied access to his lawyer and a phone for around 22 hours, and was injured as he was taken from his bedroom.
Youtuber Dhruv Rathee speaks during a press conference following his release from police detention on October 11, 2026 in New Delhi.Getty
“I was not detained, I was kidnapped,” he said in a video posted on X.
Police did not respond to questions about the detentions at a news conference on Sunday.
Police defend ‘preventive arrests’
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke and fellow leaders Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das, who were detained aboard their flight on Saturday, were released on Sunday on condition that they do not “breach peace” for a year.
Delhi Police said the arrests followed “all due legal procedures”. It has registered 20 cases linked to Saturday’s protest, including on charges of assaulting police officers and obstructing public servants.
Security personnel walk past a portrait of Narendra Modi during a protest by the Congress party supporters demanding the resignation of India's Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.Getty
Das accused the authorities of turning the state against its own citizens and said police had taken the leaders’ phones without issuing a seizure memo.
“We suspect that, as alleged in similar cases involving activists in the past, their phones could have been hacked or cloned to plant documents or other material that might later be used as evidence against us,” he said.
Delhi locked down as police detain ‘cockroach’ leaders ahead of election protest
Police also released a video to rebut claims by the CJP and Dipke’s mother that he had not been told about his grandmother’s death while in custody. Police said he was informed and offered help to travel to the funeral, but declined.
Supreme Court steps in
At a special sitting on Sunday, the Supreme Court directed that people gathering peacefully must not be illegally detained. It asked the government to keep the Delhi Metro running normally and avoid disrupting internet services, subject to law and order, and to ensure that lawyers and journalists could do their jobs.
“There shall not be illegal detention, save and except by procedure established by law,” the bench said.
The court also issued a notice to the government on a plea seeking contempt proceedings over alleged violations of its earlier order against a “complete prohibition” on metro and train services.
‘Nothing to fear’
On Monday, hundreds of metal barricades blocked roads into central Delhi and six major metro stations were closed ahead of Gandhi’s march to the Supreme Court.
“There is nothing to fear,” Gandhi said. “These cowards can do absolutely nothing to us.”
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said he and Gandhi had sought a meeting with the Chief Justice of India to seek his intervention over alleged “vote theft”.
Cockroach Janata Party returns to Delhi
CJP leaders have vowed to take the protests nationwide until Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar resigns.
“This protest will not stop till Gyanesh resigns,” Ranka said.
The protests were triggered by allegations of misconduct during a nationwide revision of voter lists, which has removed more than 130 million names, according to media reports. Critics say it has disproportionately affected minorities, particularly Muslims, and favours Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The Election Commission denies wrongdoing and says the revision was intended to remove duplicate, dead and fraudulent entries.
(With inputs from agencies)
