Over 7,000 detained, Rs 2,000 crore lost: Inside the day CJP was stopped from reaching Jantar Mantar

The programme compared the numbers with past events. About 5,500 people were detained in a single day during the anti-CAA protests in December 2019. On 10 August, 12,000 were detained in Tripura during a "Jail Bharo" movement by farmers and workers. During the 1974 railway strike, 50,000 protesters were arrested over 20 days, about 2,500 a day.

The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest at Jantar Mantar on Saturday never got going, as thousands of people were detained across Delhi-NCR before they could reach the site. The day also left commuters stranded and, by one estimate, cost the capital about Rs 2,000 crore.

In today's episode of DNA, Rahul Sinha, Managing Editor of Zee News, conducted a detailed analysis of how Delhi became the centre of a contest between protest and detention, and of the part played by women officers in Delhi Police's strategy.

Detention figures

According to sources, about 5,900 people were detained, though later updates put the figure above 7,000. The CJP claimed about 15,000 had been held. The programme said it would not comment on that claim, but added that videos from the day suggested the picture could be different.

The programme compared the numbers with past events. About 5,500 people were detained in a single day during the anti-CAA protests in December 2019. On 10 August, 12,000 were detained in Tripura during a "Jail Bharo" movement by farmers and workers. During the 1974 railway strike, 50,000 protesters were arrested over 20 days, about 2,500 a day.

Arrest on the aircraft

CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke was due to fly from Mumbai to Delhi to lead the protest. He boarded a flight at about 7.15 am with Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka. When the plane landed, a team of Delhi Police officers entered the aircraft and detained all three.

In a video of the arrest, CJP leaders can be heard asking for male officers to be brought forward. The programme noted that the usual demand is for women constables to be deployed. It described the arrest as the first decisive lead for Delhi Police's women's force.

Detaining the party's top leaders on the aircraft, it said, removed the chance of trouble on the streets. Police sent women personnel inside the plane because Dipke and his colleagues could have clashed with male officers. The courtesy with which the team acted left the three no chance to protest or create a scene.

Allegations were made against security personnel after the CJP's protest on 20 July. This time, police were more careful and put women at the front. Joint Commissioner Nupur Prasad was the face of Delhi Police on the CJP movement.

Women at the front line

Delhi was divided into 24 zones, and women personnel were deployed in 19 of them. All-women units were placed at Jantar Mantar, Connaught Place and other hotspots. Five all-women paramilitary companies were deployed, along with women officers from Delhi Police, UP Police and the Railways. The aim, the programme said, was to show more sensitivity and restraint and to avoid needless controversy.

Women Additional DCPs were in charge of the key areas:

• Jantar Mantar: Geetanjali Khandelwal
• Zone 6, around Park Hotel: Tanushree
• Crossings near Sansad Marg and Tolstoy Marg: Aishwarya Singh
• Gate No. 6 of Rajiv Chowk Metro station: Vidushi Kaushik
• Indira Gandhi Smriti area: Srishti Pandey
• Panchsheel Marg: Lakshmi Kanawat

A video of a protester praising women police officers also went viral during the day. The programme said there was no unnecessary controversy and the situation stayed under control.

Barricades, drones and stone-pelting

Protesters tested the security arrangements from the morning. Wherever they appeared across Delhi-NCR, they were stopped, put on buses and sent to detention centres. Police also placed some people under house arrest before the protest began. Announcements about prohibitory orders were made at many crossings, with appeals to the public to help maintain law and order.

Tension rose near Mandi House and Gol Dak Khana when police and protesters clashed. In the Hanuman Lane area of Connaught Place, stones were thrown at a police team and some personnel were seriously injured.

Drones kept watch near Jantar Mantar, and police ran drone searches at the Bhokra border. Connaught Place, Janpath, Mandi House, Sansad Marg and ITO were turned into what the programme called cantonments. Every road leading to Jantar Mantar had large iron barricades locked with chains, and spikes were laid to puncture the tyres of any vehicle that got through.

In New Delhi, only people with valid ID cards were let through after checks, and others were sent by other routes. At the Singhu border, cars and buses were searched and traffic challans were issued. Vehicles queued for long stretches on key routes. According to the programme, about 43,000 Delhi Police personnel were deployed, which made it almost impossible for protesters to reach Jantar Mantar. A separate point in the report said about 20,000 security personnel formed a ring within a 4km radius of the site.

Commuters bore the brunt

Entry and exit were closed at 45 Metro stations, and many trains to New Delhi and Hazrat Nizamuddin railway stations were cancelled. Sealed borders made life harder for people travelling from the NCR into Delhi. The programme said the day was distressing for ordinary people, and that reporters spoke to several of them on the ground.

The programme estimated the cost to Delhi at about Rs 2,000 crore:

• About Rs 500 crore from people unable to reach their offices because of Metro closures and diversions
• About Rs 70 crore for lakhs of litres of petrol and diesel wasted in traffic
• More than Rs 1,500 crore from important markets staying shut

The programme quoted B R Ambedkar, "In a democracy, dissent and protest are a right, but this right cannot become a licence to obstruct the freedom and daily routine of others."

Opposition parties split

All opposition parties have questioned Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, and the CJP protest was also against him. But not every party joined it. The programme said each chose its side according to its political convenience.

Arvind Kejriwal took to the streets with party workers and was detained. Former Delhi minister Gopal Rai was also held, as was Manish Sisodia, who was protesting outside the Election Commission office in Chandigarh.

Mamata Banerjee sat on a sit-in near the bus stand on South Avenue with five party MPs. Police detained her, but she was released by evening.

Left leaders joined in support of the CJP. Brinda Karat, M A Baby and former Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan were detained. CPI(ML) general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya was held near INA.

The Congress, which had protested on Delhi's streets for three days against the CEC, kept its distance, according to the programme. It said no Congress leader made a statement backing the CJP. Priyanka Gandhi posted at 4.06pm, mentioning barricades, the Metro shutdown and the internet suspension, but did not write directly about the CJP protest. Jairam Ramesh posted at 10.17am, questioning the heavy security and making allegations against the CEC, but was also silent on the CJP.

Rahul Gandhi was in Tamil Nadu for the "Chhatron Ki Goonj" programme, which had been fixed earlier. In a video message from there, he did not mention the CJP. He said: "I have been fighting Narendra Modi, the RSS and people associated with them for more than a decade. I understand my opponents as well as anyone understands their rival. I know them inside out, I am familiar with their every move."

The programme said this was the Congress's own strategy and it would not comment on it.

BJP reaction

The BJP questioned the CJP movement. Party spokesperson Sambit Patra called it a "flop show of anarchists".

"Opposition leaders are trying to create anarchy in the country by spreading fake news in the name of alleged electoral irregularities. This is a battle of Modi versus Mir Jafar. These are people who can mortgage even the country for power," Patra said.

BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said: "The country is not with you. You keep losing elections. Because of your defeat, you have made street protest a weapon. Even in that, you are not moving together. Rahul ji stayed for three days, then came the CJP, doing shadow boxing for the Aam Aadmi Party."

At the end of the day, CJP leaders announced they would protest again on Sunday, suggesting the fight may continue for some time.

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