Delhi sealed, journalists detained: Inside the CJP protest on October 10

What Delhi witnessed on October 10 felt like an ‘undeclared emergency.’ A protest called by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) and Left student organisations, demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation, seems to have rattled the government so much that it turned the city into a fortress. Every route to Jantar Mantar was sealed, as if for a military blockade at the border.

Reporting from the ground, it felt as though the administration was at war not only with the protesters but with the media. Mobile internet was blacked out across a four-kilometre radius in central Delhi to stop live broadcasts and keep the ground reality hidden from the nation. To make Jantar Mantar inaccessible, metro stations were shut and dozens of trains were cancelled, all to keep young people from joining.

The most alarming scenes came when the Delhi Police, Rapid Action Force and paramilitary units began targeting not just protesters but also independent journalists, content creators and influencers covering the event. Protesters trying to reach Jantar Mantar or Connaught Place were dragged and packed into buses. Journalists were barred from even speaking to protesters, cameras were forced shut, and our work was directly obstructed. My fellow reporters Aastha, Ashwin and I were detained by the Delhi Police despite showing them our press cards. 

Thousands of people were taken into preventive detention across the city. Despite the heavy barricading, protesters kept arriving in groups throughout the day at Connaught Place, DDU Marg, INA and elsewhere, sustaining the protest.

Watch this report.

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