Around 600 people have been arrested between Friday night and Saturday morning in New Delhi, in the context of a day prior to the massive protests called for this Saturday by the Cockroach Party movement (CJP). The mobilizations have also caused the cancellation of more than 250 trains and the temporary closure of up to 45 metro stations in the Indian capital.
The participants in the protest, who do not have official authorization as they did not respect the administrative deadlines, have gathered around the old astronomical observatory Jantar Mantar. Although there is still no official figure of attendees, the central Government has deployed more than 20,000 police and armed forces personnel to ensure public order, according to the Indian television network NDTV.
In a message disseminated on social media, the security forces have explained that their mission is to prevent the protesters from accessing the New Delhi district and to quickly evacuate those who are in the restricted areas.
To this end, the city police have delineated a perimeter of about 1.5 kilometers as a "high sensitivity zone," which includes key points such as Jantar Mantar, Janpath, the Electoral Commission office, and the headquarters of the Delhi Police. "More than 6,500 personnel will be deployed in this stretch, turning the area into a heavily guarded zone," an Indian security official has stated to the same media.
Among the additional measures, access to Jantar Mantar has been secured with at least seven barricades placed along the road leading to the protest site. At the same time, the authorities have installed speakers and signs at various strategic points along the planned route, with messages reminding citizens that permission for the demonstration has not been granted.
Likewise, surveillance and vehicle checks have been reinforced on the main entry roads to the city. The police have inspected hotels, hostels, and shelters, and have asked their owners to immediately report if they suspect that any guest intends to join the protest.
MORE THAN 200 CONTENT CREATORS AND ACTIVISTS UNDER INVESTIGATION
At the same time, the authorities have carried out extensive tracking on various social media platforms with the aim of locating profiles that are promoting participation in the protests this Saturday. As a result of this analysis, at least 200 content creators have come under investigation and the Police are now examining their messages and posts in search of material linked to the mobilizations. Some of them have already been detained.
Among those arrested is the YouTuber Dhruv Rathee, detained by Delhi Police agents at his home in Gurugram, where an operation of about 50 officers was deployed. Rathee, who has 33 million subscribers on YouTube and is known for his criticisms of the government of Narendra Modi, had announced his presence at the march in a video shared on social media this Friday night.
In this context, the legal representative of the Cockroach Party, Ratna Singh, has reported that several police officers showed up at her home and blocked her vehicle "without offering explanations."
In relation to the CJP, the Police have also detained political activist Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the movement, and other members of the organization, including Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, just after landing on an Air India flight from Bombay.
Dipke has live-streamed the police intervention on Instagram, in a video in which the agents are seen accessing the plane. "They could have waited for us to come out. Come arrest us, we are not afraid," the leader is heard saying, who was heading to the capital to lead the protest.
After their arrest, the three have been transferred from the airport to an undisclosed location. The CJP has condemned the operation and demanded their "immediate and unconditional" release, considering it an "authoritarian detention" aimed at stopping the organization of a peaceful mobilization.
The arrests occur after the authorities rejected the request to hold the demonstration this Friday, arguing that the request was submitted late and citing security and procedural reasons.