Delhi Police file 3 FIRs over protest on SIR row; hundreds detained on Day 2

The Delhi police on Saturday registered three FIRs in connection with Friday’s protest near Jantar Mantar demanding the removal of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Political leaders, civil society activists and student and youth organisations continued their agitation on Saturday as the protest entered its second day, with hundreds of people being detained again.

According to the police, two FIRs were registered at the Parliament Street police station and one at Connaught Place police station under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including disobedience and obstructing a public servantunder Sections 223 (disobedience of a lawful order), 221 (voluntarily obstructing a public servant), and 132 (use of criminal force to deter a public servant from discharging official duty) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The police said no individual or organisation had been named in the FIRs, though details of organisers and groups that proposed or participated in the demonstrations were mentioned in the FIRs. Police had denied permission for the protest.

On Saturday, hundreds of protesters marched towards Jantar Mantar amid heavy police deployment and barricades on roads leading to the protest site. Traffic diversions were in place on Jantar Mantar Road and Raisina Road. The call for Saturday’s protest was given by All India Students’ Association (AISA) president Neha Bora, a day after nearly 1,000 people were detained during demonstrations in and around Jantar Mantar. Many of those detained on Friday were later released.

The march began near Patel Chowk metro station and saw participation from multiple Left student organisations and Rajya Sabha member Kapil Sibal, and social activist Anjali Bharadwaj, among others.

Delhi Police detained hundreds of protesters, including Ms. Bora, Mr. Bhushan, and activist Yogendra Yadav, as they gathered near the protest site. “Women protesters, journalists, and lawyers were manhandled by male police personnelSeveral women have complained of being groped by male police personnel,” AISA said in a statement

“While detaining us, a police officer used expletives,” a female student alleged, claiming that she was manhandled by the police

Journalist ‘harassed’

Meanwhile, a group of independent journalists sat on a protest outside the Parliament Street police station later in the day after a woman journalist alleged that she was sexually harassed by a male police officer while reporting on the protest. She also alleged that the police refused to register her complaint.

Delhi Police did not responded to the allegations.

Condemning the incident, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi wrote on X: “A female journalist has accused a police officer of misconduct at Jantar Mantar. For hours, hundreds of journalists have been sitting there with just one demand: that an FIR be registered. Isn’t that the police’s basic duty?… Women across Delhi and students are gripped by fear for their safety, staging satyagraha, but the very police responsible for protecting women are raising hands against them… Delhi Police comes under the Ministry of Home Affairs. Amit Shah ji, where are you? You have to answer for this.”