A human chain of security personnel ran along the metal railings of Central Park in Connaught Place on Friday evening, facing outward, with the lawns behind them closed to the public. A tear gas vehicle and a Vajra vehicle were parked outside the gate. Inside the park, Rapid Action Force personnel stood in position. Heavy deployment was also visible around Palika Bazaar. The park was where the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) had asked people to gather at 5 pm to wave the national flag. Hours earlier, the plan began to fall apart elsewhere in the city.
In Jhandewalan, more than 20 Delhi Police personnel had gone to the house where CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke was staying and served him two notices. The first notice barred him from holding a demonstration, procession, or rally in the vicinity of Connaught Place. In contrast, the second notice, issued by the Special Executive Magistrate, concerned the bond conditions imposed on Dipke and CJP co-leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka.
The second notice reiterated that the three had been bound down after being taken into preventive custody and produced before a court, which directed them to maintain peace and good behaviour for one year. The notice prohibiting the march stated that it was issued to give effect to the Delhi High Court’s directions and referred to Dipke’s public statements and social media calls asking people to assemble at Connaught Place at 5 pm on October 16 without obtaining lawful permission.
Describing Connaught Place as a busy commercial hub comprising concentric circles connected by radial roads and having limited entry and exit points, the notice said a crowd gathering in one circle could quickly obstruct others, making dispersal and emergency evacuation difficult. The area houses a dense concentration of showrooms, restaurants, hotels, etc and disruptions would affect the livelihoods of traders, it said.
Video clips from inside the house showed him seated with the police and signing papers, the Tricolour wrapped around him. He could be heard asking an officer not to leak his phone number this time.
When he finally stepped out, cameras were already waiting at the door. The police stopped him within seconds. An officer told him that Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita was in force in Connaught Place and that he was being detained.
Dipke stood on the pavement with the flag and questioned the order. He said he was carrying only a flag. The only people around him, he pointed out, were journalists. “I’m alone; what law did I break?” he asked.
A junior officer then stepped in and steered him towards a police car. The whole exchange played out in front of the lenses. They took him to Jafarpur Kalan police station.
Carrying a giant Tricolour, a group of protesters took multiple rounds of Connaught Place’s inner circle, while another climbed barricades with flags, banners and placards. Slogans of ‘Jai Hind’, ‘Inquilab Zindabad’ and ‘Gyanesh Kumar, ab tumhari baari hai’ rang out across the commercial hub in the heart of the city as the demonstrators moved between locations, dispersing and regrouping. At the same time, police personnel attempted to clear the area. Some sang the national anthem. Traffic police were posted along the inner and outer circles to keep traffic moving around them.
The police did not block every group. Marches raising different slogans were allowed to pass, and a senior officer described the situation as peaceful. He said some protesters had reached Connaught Place and would soon be removed.
The protests and heavy security deployment disrupted commercial activity in Connaught Place and Palika Bazaar, with traders in the two busy market areas growing agitated over the interruption to their businesses. Police personnel moved through the inner circle of Connaught Place to disperse protesters and ease congestion amid traffic movement and crowds of onlookers.
As the evening went on, police began detaining those who had gathered. Minor scuffles broke out when officers tried to disperse the crowd. By the count of police sources, about 150 people had been detained.
Across town at Mandi House, students and members of the All India Students’ Association (AISA) gathered, listing Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation, the rollback of the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, and the withdrawal of the 2023 Election Commissioner Appointment Act among their demands. AISA president Neha Bora was detained there. Jostling broke out between the crowd, camera crews and security personnel around her as she was taken away. Other students, including some who had been marching, were detained at the same spot.
In Central Delhi, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) held its own flag march outside its office on Pandit Ravi Shankar Shukla Lane, close to Rashtrapati Bhavan. Scores of party workers, including Delhi unit president Saurabh Bharadwaj, walked with Tricolours, raising “Bharat Mata ki Jai” and “Vande Mataram”. The march continued on North Avenue with police nearby.
By the time the five o’clock hour came and went, the scene at Central Park was largely unchanged. The railings were lined with personnel, the vehicles stayed where they were parked, and the lawns behind them were empty. The man who had called the gathering was at a police station, and the flags were waving elsewhere in the circle and at Mandi House.
SC urges better sense over CP closure
New Delhi: Hoping that “better sense will prevail” among all concerned, the Supreme Court on Friday refused an urgent hearing on a plea by various traders’ bodies against the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) order shutting down Central Park at Connaught Place over the proposed protest by the CJP. Frequent protests in and around Connaught Place have significantly affected businesses, with some establishments recording zero sales on certain days.
Declining to entertain the plea, a bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi said, “We hope better sense will prevail on everyone. Small shopkeepers earn their livelihood during these days. We know the hardship and difficulty the entire families will face.” “If there’s loss of business, we will exercise our powers under Constitutional jurisdiction. Let’s cross that bridge when it comes,” Justice Bagchi said.
Justice Bagchi observed that the various issues surrounding the protest, including the right to protest, the proposed selling of ‘mungfali’ and concerns over law and order, were interconnected.
“Someone wants to protest, someone wants to sell ‘mungfali’, and someone wants law and order. All these are related,” Justice Bagchi said. The court could exercise its constitutional jurisdiction if the situation resulted in business losses.
Advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai, appearing for the Delhi Kirana Committee and Delhi Iron and Hardware Merchant Association, sought the hearing during the day itself, saying the protest and subsequent restriction will obstruct trade worth Rs 200 crore a day. “If we feel that the NDMC’s order is a disproportionate restriction, we told you, this court has ample jurisdiction under compensation and public law. We will act,” Justice Bagchi said.
Justice Bagchi said the court had ample jurisdiction to intervene if the measures were found disproportionate, including through its powers under public and compensation law. The bench said it may list the plea on October 26 or 27, after the Dussehra vacation.
Several trade and industry organisations have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, seeking measures to prevent blockades and forced shutdowns from disrupting markets, industrial areas and major transport routes.
The New Delhi Traders Association urged the Government to strengthen legal protections for businesses and ensure customers and workers could reach commercial areas safely.
The Federation of Trade and Industry of India also asked Rahul Gandhi to call off protests over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, warning that demonstrations were creating uncertainty during a crucial trading period.
Other organisations, including the Bharatiya Udyog Vyapar Mandal and the Federation of All India Distributors Associations, said prolonged disruptions could severely affect small businesses, daily-wage workers and women entrepreneurs.