Thousands detained as New Delhi cracks down on youth protest
Policewomen try to stop a detained protester escaping from a bus during a protest by the Cockroach Janta Party seeking the resignation of India's Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, near the protest site in New Delhi, India. [Adnan Abidi/Reuters]
Published On 11 Oct 2026

Thousands of people were detained across New Delhi on Saturday as Indian authorities mounted a sweeping security operation to stop a protest by the youth-led “cockroach” movement demanding the resignation of the country’s election chief.

Police fanned out across India’s capital to block access to Jantar Mantar, a designated protest site, stopping buses and cars at checkpoints, erecting barricades and deploying antiriot vehicles equipped with tear gas launchers along key routes.

Many demonstrators were intercepted long before they reached central New Delhi, chased away or dragged into police vehicles and taken to temporary detention centres. Several movement leaders, opposition lawmakers and student activists were detained en route, effectively halting the rally before it began.

Authorities said they had denied permission for the gathering because the request was submitted late and insisted the measures were necessary to maintain order. Sambit Patra, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, dismissed the protesters as “anarchic elements” staging a “flop show”.

Despite the clampdown, some protesters broke through police cordons, chanting slogans against Modi and the Election Commission of India (ECI), before being detained. “We are a democracy, yet peaceful protests are being crushed by force,” said college student Tanya Negi, who travelled from Mumbai. “Why is Modi afraid of India’s young people?”

The movement led by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) emerged online in May and gained prominence through protests over exam paper leaks that led to the resignation of Modi’s education minister in July.

Its latest campaign targets the ECI’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR), which opposition parties say has already removed more than 130 million names from voter rolls and disenfranchised supporters.

The ECI and the government deny any political bias, but critics say the crackdown highlights shrinking space for dissent as key state polls approach.

Thousands detained as New Delhi cracks down on youth protest
Police detained more than 2,000 people, including opposition politicians, journalists and lawyers. [AP Photo]
Thousands detained as New Delhi cracks down on youth protest
Protesters were demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation over a revision of the voters’ list they say disproportionately benefits the governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). [Vipin/AP Photo]
Thousands detained as New Delhi cracks down on youth protest
Protesters accuse the BJP of using the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voters’ list to sway results, and opposition parties say the revisions affected several recent state elections the party won, casting a shadow over polls in the world’s largest democracy. [Manish Swarup/AP Photo]
Thousands detained as New Delhi cracks down on youth protest
The CJP had planned to gather thousands of people at Jantar Mantar, a designated protest site in central New Delhi. But on Saturday, the area was sealed off by security forces before the demonstration began. [Adnan Abidi/Reuters]
Thousands detained as New Delhi cracks down on youth protest
Security forces set up checkpoints on main roads and entry points across the city of 20 million people, boarded buses searching for protesters and inspected vehicles. [Priyanshu Singh/Reuters]
Thousands detained as New Delhi cracks down on youth protest
Barricades and concrete blocks disrupted traffic, while antiriot vehicles equipped with tear gas launchers guarded key routes. [Priyanshu Singh/Reuters]
Thousands detained as New Delhi cracks down on youth protest
Despite detentions of the founders of the youth movement, small protests took place elsewhere in the city, including at the popular crafts market Dilli Haat. [Adnan Abidi/Reuters]
Thousands detained as New Delhi cracks down on youth protest
The protests represent one of the most serious tests yet for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and intensified after The Indian Express daily reported recently that two election commissioners had questioned CEC Kumar’s revisions that removed roughly 130 million names from the voters’ list. [Adnan Abidi /Reuters]
Thousands detained as New Delhi cracks down on youth protest
Thousands of police and paramilitary personnel were deployed across the city on Saturday, as mobile internet services were suspended in the central business district. Dozens of Delhi Metro stations and markets were also shut. [AP Photo]