Delhi Braces for October 10 Cockroach Janta Party Protest, 25,000 Central Force Personnel Deployed

New Delhi: With the national capital bracing for a large protest on October 10, Delhi Police Joint Commissioner (Central Range) Madhur Verma on Friday asked personnel to show restraint. In a post on X, he said the real strength of the police lies not just in controlling a crowd but in doing so with “discipline, dignity and minimum force”. He urged his colleagues to prepare for the storm, keep the peace and protect it.

His appeal comes as security is tightened ahead of a demonstration called by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), a youth-led satirical political movement. The Ministry of Home Affairs has made around 23,000 Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) personnel available to the Delhi Police for deployment between October 8 and 12. The additional force will take the number of central personnel in the city to over 25,000, officials said.

The protest is part of a growing agitation demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The CJP announced the Delhi protest after a rally at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park, which the party says drew thousands of people despite police restrictions. 

The Delhi Police have denied permission for the CJP’s proposed protest at Jantar Mantar, citing rule violations during an earlier demonstration, a senior officer said on Friday. The application was received on October 7, only three days before the planned protest, while the rules require applications to be filed at least 10 days in advance, the officer added.

Meanwhile, CJP spokesperson Saurav Das has alleged that the BJP is mobilising ultra-right-wing groups to disrupt the October 10 protest, and videos circulating online reportedly show right-wing activists gathering near Jantar Mantar. The claims have not been independently verified. 

The concern over crowd control is heightened by the memory of the CJP’s July 20 march towards Parliament, when the Delhi Police said 118 security and police personnel were injured, and Reuters reported that police also said 60 protesters were hurt. 

Other precautionary steps are also in place. The Delhi government has ordered liquor shops to stay closed on October 9 and 10, citing the prevailing situation and the need to maintain public order. The Excise Department’s order said the decision was based on inputs from the Delhi Police.

The police have also proposed closing the entry and exit gates of 57 metro stations and reducing train frequency, citing the likelihood of “unruly crowd movement towards sensitive locations”. In a letter dated October 8, the Joint Commissioner of Police (Transport Range) asked the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation to implement these measures.

Multi-layered barricading will be set up, and CCTV cameras will monitor the situation from control rooms. Face recognition cameras will also be installed across the capital, officials said. Vigilance has been stepped up at the city’s borders, including Ghazipur, Chilla, Tikri, Singhu, Gurugram, Kapashera, Loni and Badarpur, to track movement into the capital.