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Written By : Barkat Khan
Chronicle Craze News Desk.
Meta Description: UN rights office expresses grave concern over Delhi Police's mass detention of protesters at Jantar Mantar. Over 3,000 detained as CJP demands CEC Gyanesh Kumar's resignation. Full story here.The United Nations human rights office has voiced serious alarm over the Delhi Police's sweeping crackdown on protesters, describing the mass detentions as a matter of grave concern that demands immediate international attention.
In a strongly worded statement released Saturday, UN Human Rights spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan called on Indian authorities to "immediately and unconditionally" release all individuals who have been arbitrarily detained during the demonstrations in the national capital.
The UN rights office didn't stop there. It urged Indian authorities to ensure that "the right to peaceful assembly is fully respected and fulfilled," emphasizing that restrictions on peaceful protests must meet "strict tests of necessity and proportionality".
Perhaps most significantly, the UN called on Indian law enforcement personnel to "exercise utmost restraint in response to peaceful protesters, consistent with the country's democratic traditions and human rights obligations".
The statement also urged authorities to "engage in meaningful dialogue to address the broadly held concerns expressed".
The numbers emerging from Saturday's events paint a troubling picture. According to official sources, more than 7,000 people were detained during the day as authorities tightened security ahead of a planned demonstration at Jantar Mantar. By Saturday evening, police sources indicated that all protesters held at detention centres had been released except for three CJP leaders—Abhijeet Dipke, Saurav Das, and Ashutosh Ranka.
Delhi Police had refused permission for the protest, citing inadequate notice and concerns over public safety and law and order. The police action extended far beyond the protest site itself.
The CJP's demands are threefold: Gyanesh Kumar's resignation with criminal proceedings initiated against him, an immediate halt to elections and the SIR exercise with restoration of the January 2025 voter list, and the repeal of the 2023 law governing Election Commissioner appointments.
The controversy stems from reports that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi raised objections at least 14 times over 10 months regarding decisions taken without their knowledge, including changes to Form 6 and the handling of voter deletions.
"My colleague, one of India's best investigative reporters, Ayush Tiwari has been detained by Delhi Police near ITO. He was not even at Jantar Mantar. He had his press card prominently displayed," posted Scroll journalist Spriha Srivastava on X.
The CJP condemned what it described as a "shocking clampdown on journalists across Delhi who are being detained by Delhi Police just for doing their jobs".
The security measures implemented across the capital were unprecedented in recent memory. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation announced entry and exit gates at 45 stations would remain closed, with interchange facilities available at all but the New Delhi station. Internet services were suspended within a 4-km radius of Jantar Mantar from 10 pm on October 9 to 10 pm on October 10.
CJP leaders Abhijeet Dipke, Ashutosh Ranka, and Saurav Das were detained inside the aircraft as soon as they landed at Indira Gandhi International Airport. The police deployed a large number of women personnel specifically to handle women protesters.
At detention centres across the city—including Bawana, Mundka, Burari, Narela, and Nangloi—protesters refused to back down, turning these sites into what they called "mini protest grounds".
"If we are not allowed to protest at a designated site, we shall create our own Jantar Mantar to protest," said Srijan, a protester. "This is civil disobedience".
The bench, led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, said there could be no complete prohibition on the movement of metro trains. Yet the restrictions proceeded as planned.
As the CJP's movement continues to gain momentum, with solidarity protests reported in Mumbai where actor Imran Khan and activist Tushar Gandhi were among those detained, the question remains: will the government heed the UN's call for meaningful dialogue, or will the crackdown intensify?
For now, the world is watching as India grapples with a fundamental question: how far can a democracy go in restricting the right to peaceful assembly before it ceases to be one?
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