A large number of people gathered at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on Friday to protest against caste-based reservation, prompting the deployment of Delhi Police and Central forces at the designated protest site to maintain law and order.
Delhi Police Denies Permission
On Thursday, Delhi Police clarified that no permission had been granted for any protest on the issue of reservation reforms at Jantar Mantar on August 21. In a statement, Delhi Police said, “Various videos are circulating regarding the alleged grant of permission for a protest on the issue of reservation reforms at Jantar Mantar on 21 August, which is false and misleading. The police further clarified that no one had been granted permission to hold a protest at Jantar Mantar on August 21. It also said that prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the BNSS, formerly Section 144 of the CrPC, were already in force in the New Delhi district.
The police also described videos circulating on social media claiming that permission had been granted as “false and misleading”. Protest marches, processions, demonstrations and assemblies involving five or more people are strictly prohibited under the prevailing orders, according to the police.
Earlier in the day, small groups of people began arriving at Jantar Mantar for the proposed protest, despite the Delhi Police having officially denied permission for the gathering.
