The Indian state machinery has moved to ensure that Jantar Mantar does not become the site of a second Cockroach Janata Party agitation.

Accounts from Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat describe police warning students against attending, calling activists and their families, visiting homes and offices, and detaining people travelling to Delhi for the October 10 demonstration.

At a paying guest accommodation near Delhi University, a student stated that police warned residents that attending could lead to FIRs and hurt their job prospects. In Madhya Pradesh, an All India Students’ Federation (AISF) member said police detained her and others from a Pune to Delhi train at Itarsi in Madhya Pradesh. As of midnight on October 9, she said she remained locked inside a resort. Deepak Baliyan, co-in-charge of the CJP, told Newslaundry that Alwar police had arrived at his house and asked him to come to the police station. 

The protest has been organised by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), All India Students’ Association (AISA) and AISF, and supported by the Aam Aadmi Party. Senior police officials told Newslaundry that preparations were “stricter” than those for the July protests and that police would try to prevent people from reaching Jantar Mantar.

In a major development, Delhi Police also wrote to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) asking it to close entry and exit gates at 57 metro stations from 9 pm on October 9 until the situation normalises, ahead of the proposed protest at Jantar Mantar tomorrow.

Delhi Police hold meeting at PG near DU, approach residents

A Delhi University student, speaking to Newslaundry on condition of anonymity, said Delhi Police came to their paying guest accommodation in Shakti Nagar during dinner and held a meeting inside the mess.

The student said the police appealed to them in an “emotional manner”, warning them that FIRs could be registered against them, and that they could be detained, and that this could make it difficult for them to get jobs in the future.

The student also said the police reminded them that their parents had sent them to Delhi to study and not to participate in protests. 

The student said that, following the PG collapse tragedy in Satya Niketan last month, such meetings had been held regularly, during which police helped students understand safety measures.

Delhi Police sources told Newslaundry that preparations for the October 10 protest were “stricter” than those for the July protests. According to them the police would try to prevent people from reaching Jantar Mantar and were monitoring movement and mobilisation.

The sources also claimed that meetings had been held at the university and hostel levels to make students aware that gathering near Jantar Mantar and adjoining areas would be illegal because prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) had been imposed.

Hindustan Times had earlier reported that Delhi Police had directed station house officers to monitor protesters with alleged criminal antecedents, track buses headed towards the New Delhi district and engage with educational institutions and paying guest accommodation owners to discourage students from joining the demonstration.

Residents also asked not to participate

The police outreach has also extended beyond students. A resident of the Turkman Gate area told Newslaundry that police held meetings with local groups, urging them not to attend any protests in the capital.

The Hindu had also reported that a meeting was held with district police officials and local residents to discuss maintaining law and order ahead of the October 10 protest. 

Speaking to Newslaundry, Mohammad Shahid Gangohi, a resident of Chandni Mahal, said police officials held meetings in their area and told residents the gathering on October 10 was illegal and that the entire New Delhi district was under BNS 163. He said that when residents argued protest was a fundamental right, police officials countered that the right has constitutional limits. 

Gangohi noted that their tone was not threatening; however, the police officials made sure to make people aware to not be a part of any mob.

Teacher says police called her three times

Sheetal Choudhary, a teacher who was active during the CJP-led protest against the NEET paper leak and other examination irregularities, also spoke to Newslaundry. Choudhary had participated in a hunger strike during that protest and underwent health check-ups, some of which were organised by the police. She said she had provided her phone number and other details during these check-ups.

Choudhary alleged that she received three calls from the police on October 8. According to her account, the callers asked about her political involvement, whether she was associated with any political party and whether she had attended any protests.

“They were asking about my location, but they also knew which district I was from,” she claimed. Choudhary said she was unsure whether the people who called her were police personnel. She claimed that one of the calls was from Madhuban Bapu Dham Police Station in Ghaziabad.

Newslaundry spoke to SHO Ramkishan, who denied this claim. We are also trying to reach the DCP, and we will update the report if we receive a response.

ASFI delegation detained inside train near Itarsi

Meanwhile, people travelling to Delhi for the protest have reportedly faced police action in other states. Shravni Buwa told Newslaundry that she was travelling from Pune to Delhi by train when police entered the train and detained her and others at Itarsi station in Madhya Pradesh.

According to Buwa, the group was taken to a location around five to 10 minutes from the station, although she said she was unsure of the exact location. She described the place as a banquet hall.

Buwa said that there were 12 protesters in the group, including five women. She said they were a mix of AISF members and members of the New Students and Youth Federation (NSYF), Pune. She added that two other people detained with them were not associated with either organisation.

“I think the police are tracking social media,” Buwa claimed.

She also said the group had been provided water and food, adding that they had not eaten earlier. According to her, the police had initially taken their phones but returned them later, which she attributed to what she believed was external pressure.

As per the location Buwa shared with Newslaundry on WhatsApp, the map pin showed their location near “The Park Club and Resort” around Itarsi. As of 12 am on October 9, Buwa said she remained locked inside the resort.

Buwa also told Newslaundry that another AISF member travelling with the group to Delhi had been detained at Bhusawal station. In a statement, AISF condemned what it described as “the high-handed, unconstitutional, and unlawful attempt by the Maharashtra Police to arbitrarily detain a student delegation”.

The delegation was travelling on the 12779 Goa Express from Pune to New Delhi.

Newslaundry tried to contact the police in Itarsi, but they didn’t pick up our calls. We have emailed our questions to the Superintendent of Police, Narmadapuram district. We will update the report if we receive a response.

CJP, AAP student wing and SFI members face alleged police action

In Rajasthan, Deepak Baliyan, the CJP’s co-in-charge based in Alwar, spoke to Newslaundry at around 8:15 pm on October 8, Thursday.

Baliyan claimed that police personnel had arrived at his house to detain him. According to him, constables asked him to come to the police station but did not provide any notice. He said he livestreamed the incident.

Following the conversation, CJP leader Saurav Das posted on X that Baliyan had been taken to an unknown location by the Rajasthan Police and expressed concern for his safety.

CJP co-convenor Ashutosh Ranka later told Newslaundry that Baliyan is under house arrest.

Newslaundry reached out to Alwar Police. Speaking on condition of anonymity, an officer said that police personnel had gone to Baliyan’s house but did not share any further details. We have emailed our questions to the Superintendent of Police, Alwar district. We will update the report if we receive a response.   

Eeshna Gupta, co-in-charge of ASAP Delhi, the Aam Aadmi Party’s student wing, also told Newslaundry that she and other members had faced repeated police action in the days leading up to the protest.

Gupta claimed that police began calling her and her family on the night before October 2. She said police personnel came to her house on the morning of October 2 but that she managed to escape.

She alleged that police later detained her and other ASAP members and took them to Badarpur police station. According to Gupta, on October 3, police detained them again while they were allegedly making memes and protesting, and took them to Jaffarpur Police Station in Najafgarh.

She claimed that the police station was around 50 km away and almost in Haryana, which, according to her, made it difficult and unsafe for women to return. Gupta alleged that ASAP members had continued to be detained and threatened for protesting and raising awareness in Delhi, particularly as October 10 approached.

Adarsh Saji, national president of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI), told Newslaundry that around 10 to 12 police personnel came to the organisation’s office at around 9 pm on Thursday.

Saji alleged that the police asked security personnel where specific people were staying, where the office was located, their phone numbers and how many people were expected to come to the office.

He also alleged that one of SFI’s district convenors from Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh, Arif, was under house arrest. According to Saji, Arif had been planning to travel to Delhi by the following morning or evening.

Saji further claimed that police had visited more than 10 houses of SFI activists that day. He alleged that SFI’s Gujarat state secretary Satya Shal Nevu, who is also an All India Vice-President, was under house arrest in Gujarat.

According to Saji, police personnel had also been calling student leaders, particularly state office-bearers, asking where they were and how many people they were mobilising.

Saji alleged that police personnel also visited the SFI central committee office, where security personnel and some members of the organisation were present. According to him, the police asked where SFI members were staying and how many student activists were present in the office.

SFI Delhi’s X account also posted about the incident, claiming that a group of policemen carrying lathis arrived at HKS Surjeet Bhawan in New Delhi, where the SFI Central Executive Committee office is located, searching for SFI activists. The organisation also alleged that police tried to collect details of SFI activists travelling to Delhi for the protest.

RWPI member says police have been calling him for a week

Yogesh Swamy, a member of the Revolutionary Workers Party of India (RWPI), told Newslaundry that he had been receiving calls from the police for the past week.

Swamy claimed that police personnel had been asking about his whereabouts and telling him to come and meet them. According to him, they also told him that if he did not come, they would visit his house to meet him.

“Today they asked me what my plan was for the October 10 protest,” he claimed.

Swamy said he expected that police might detain him or place him under house arrest. He also claimed that a police officer asked him to take a photograph with him, saying that he would show the photograph and tell others that he had met Swamy and that Swamy would not attend the protest.

Swamy said he had not met anyone from the police as of Thursday, October 8.

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