The day also left commuters stranded and, by one estimate, cost the capital about Rs 2,000 crore. The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest at Jantar Mantar on Saturday never got going, as thousands of people were detained across Delhi-NCR before they could reach the site.
About 5,900 people were detained, though later updates put the figure above 7,000, according to sources. The CJP claimed about 15,000 had been held. About 5,500 people were detained in a single day during the anti-CAA protests in December 2019. During the 1974 railway strike, 50,000 protesters were arrested over 20 days, about 2,500 a day. Delhi was divided into 24 zones, and women personnel were deployed in 19 of them. Priyanka Gandhi posted at 4.06pm, mentioning barricades, the Metro shutdown and the internet suspension, but did not write directly about the CJP protest. Jairam Ramesh posted at 10.17am, questioning the heavy security and making allegations against the CEC, but was also silent on the CJP.
The programme said it would not comment on that claim, but added that videos from the day suggested the picture could be different. On 10 August, 12,000 were detained in Tripura during a “Jail Bharo” movement by farmers and workers. The aim, the programme said, was to show more sensitivity and restraint and to avoid needless controversy. The programme said there was no unnecessary controversy and the situation stayed under control. The Congress, which had protested on Delhi’s streets for three days against the CEC, kept its distance, according to the programme. It said no Congress leader made a statement backing the CJP. The programme said this was the Congress’s own strategy and it would not comment on it.
The programme compared the numbers with past events. In a video of the arrest, CJP leaders can be heard asking for male officers to be brought forward. The programme noted that the usual demand is for women constables to be deployed. It described the arrest as the first decisive lead for Delhi Police’s women’s force. All-women units were placed at Jantar Mantar, Connaught Place and other hotspots. Five all-women paramilitary companies were deployed, along with women officers from Delhi Police, UP Police and the Railways. A video of a protester praising women police officers also went viral during the day. Protesters tested the security arrangements from the morning. Wherever they appeared across Delhi-NCR, they were stopped, put on buses and sent to detention centres. Announcements about prohibitory orders were made at many crossings, with appeals to the public to help maintain law and order.
Police also placed some people under house arrest before the protest began.
