NEW DELHI: Stones were pelted at a bus carrying detained protesters in Delhi’s Jhandewalan area on Saturday as police continued detaining people attempting to reach Jantar Mantar for the Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) proposed protest against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.Stone-pelting was also reported in other parts of the national capital, including Connaught Place and Imtiaz Ali Marg, where police personnel were injured, officials said.According to news agency IANS, the Jhandewalan incident occurred when police personnel were transporting detained individuals in a bus through the area. Officials said some protesters allegedly attempted to escape custody and damage the vehicle. Police subsequently detained them again and moved them to a designated location.Security was strengthened around Jhandewalan Metro Station, with heavy police deployment and traffic restrictions in place. The operation also led to traffic diversions in and around the area.In a separate incident near Imtiaz Ali Marg, close to Akashwani Bhawan, around 25 to 30 protesters allegedly jumped barricades and pelted security personnel with stones after attempting to reach the protest site, officials said. Two police personnel were injured in the incident, they added.Stone-pelting was also reported near Baba Kharak Singh Marg in Connaught Place as police attempted to disperse protesters and take them into preventive custody.Recounting the confrontation, Head Constable Nagendra told ANI, “We were removing the protesters. During that process, we faced a scuffle, and my nameplate got broken… It happened near the Arya School lane, close to Baba Kharak Singh Marg. There were several protesters. They were detained… There was stone-pelting; a stone even hit my shoe.”Police Inspector Vivek Kumar said a group advanced towards a small police contingent before reinforcements arrived.“It must have been about two hours ago. There was a large crowd on Baba Kharak Singh Marg; there were many miscreants. While chasing them, I ended up in a side lane with four other men. We were left alone near the Race Course. Seeing that we were few in number, they started advancing towards us. Some of them threw stones,” he said.“Fortunately, we escaped; just as they were closing in on us, our staff arrived from behind. We were saved… There must have been 60–70 people. No one was injured… No, none [protesters] were caught,” Kumar added.
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Police detained more than 1,000 protesters across Delhi, with some reports putting the figure at over 1,500, as authorities enforced restrictions and prevented demonstrators from reaching Jantar Mantar. The protest was scheduled to begin at 10.30 am, but permission had not been granted, officials said.CJP leaders Abhijit Dipke, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were also detained at Delhi airport upon arriving in the capital. Dipke, who travelled from Mumbai, posted an Instagram video alleging that police detained him and his associates as they disembarked from their flight.