Delhi Police’s ‘More Than 10’ Formula: The Math Behind EC Protest Detentions

At 1 pm on Gandhi Jayanti, Janpath Road had become a line of barricades, buses and police personnel.

Behind the barricades, 50-60 protesters stood in scattered groups of five or six. Some danced near McDonald’s, while others shouted slogans demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

A police officer looked towards the protesters.

“Should we get them inside a bus?” he asked his senior.

“Wait. If they stand in a group of more than 10, then pick them up,” came the response.

That brief exchange reflected the policing strategy on display across central Delhi on Thursday, as opposition parties and student groups attempted to march towards Jantar Mantar.

The crackdown began before a large crowd could gather. Police sealed off the area around the Parliament Street police station and Jantar Mantar, stopping protesters approaching from Ashoka Road, Janpath and Tolstoy Road.

When Aam Aadmi Party Delhi chief Saurabh Bhardwaj arrived at around 10.30 am, he was detained and taken away in a police bus.

For the next five hours, protesters were intercepted near the Parliament Street roundabout, detained and transported to Fatehpur Beri and Badarpur police stations.

By the time All India Students’ Association national president Neha Bohra arrived with activist Yogendra Yadav and RTI activist Nikhil Dey, police said around 500 people had already been detained.

PROTESTERS STOPPED BEFORE THEY COULD REACH JANTAR MANTAR

Bohra, wearing a red T-shirt, crossed Ashoka Road and tried to enter Parliament Street. Police pushed her back. She and Yadav then sat down as supporters raised slogans.

DCP (New Delhi) Sachin Sharma approached from behind the barricades, while officers in riot-control gear formed a line.

The three were quickly detained. Four policemen carried each of them to a waiting bus — the 18th vehicle filled with protesters since morning.

“Gandhi diwas pe Gandhi ke desh mein jo ho raha hai, aap dekh rahe hain,” Yadav shouted from inside the bus. “This government is acting like the British government. And we are trying to save the country with the flag.”

By afternoon, police said the number of detainees had crossed 700. Among those detained were former Delhi Chief Minister Atishi, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh and RJD’s Manoj Jha.

Atishi later alleged in a video posted on X that AAP leaders and workers had been picked up despite holding a peaceful protest at Jantar Mantar.

Bhardwaj, in a video message ahead of the demonstration, said protesting was a democratic right. He alleged that police had denied permission for the gathering even though AAP had applied six days earlier to hold a peaceful demonstration.

SMALL GROUPS KEEP THE PROTEST GOING

Despite the mass detentions, the protest did not completely disappear from the streets.

Smaller groups remained around Janpath and Tolstoy Marg, including college students carrying backpacks and wearing red gamchhas, as well as middle-aged protesters.

Fists went up and phones came out as slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and CEC Gyanesh Kumar echoed through the streets.

One young protester in a red kurta held up a hand-painted poster that read, “Gyanesh, it’s done bro”. It also carried the words “vote chori”, “objections” and “SIR”, alongside a drawing of an EVM.

For some protesters, however, the demonstration was about more than the demand for the CEC’s resignation.

“The protest is against Gyanesh and the Election Commission. But there’s a larger context, I feel. The resignation of CEC Gyanesh isn’t the only thing. People are upset with the SIR. This is a disenfranchisement of millions of voters,” said Pawan, a 36-year-old IT professional from Andhra Pradesh.

“I’ve been here for two hours and I’ve not been able to enter the protest site. People were just standing but they’re being chased and detained,” he said.

Chhai, 26, from Mayur Vihar, said he had come to seek accountability from the Election Commission.

“I feel it is my duty to do this,” he said.

As the afternoon wore on, the buses kept coming.

“The buses kept coming. Any sort of major leader who was gathering a crowd or media attention was being detained,” Chhai said.