Hundreds Detained as Delhi Protest Against CEC Gyanesh Kumar Enters Third Day; Journalist Who Alleged Cop Harassment Among Those Held
New Delhi, October 4, 2026 – The protest demanding the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar stretched into its third straight day on Sunday, and by evening the streets around Ashoka Road and the Shangri-La intersection looked like a scene of mass detention. Hundreds of students, activists and ordinary citizens were picked up by Delhi Police as they tried to march towards Jantar Mantar. Among those taken away was AISA national president Neha Bora – detained for the third consecutive day – and a woman journalist who only a day earlier had accused a police officer of sexual harassment while covering the same agitation. The march, organised under the banner of the All India Students’ Association and backed by several civil society groups, began from Andhra Bhawan circle in the afternoon. Protesters carried placards calling for Kumar’s resignation and an immediate halt to the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. They alleged that the SIR process had led to large-scale and irregular deletion of voter names. The crowd included students from different universities, members of youth organisations, and a few senior activists who have been part of the stir since Friday. Police had already put up multiple layers of barricades. When the march reached the Shangri-La intersection, officers blocked the road. What followed was a familiar pattern of the past three days: pushing, dragging, and people being forced into buses and private vehicles. Videos circulating later showed male officers handling women protesters, and one clip captured a man being shoved into a bus with his head pressed down. Neha Bora was taken around 5 p.m. AISA claimed she was pulled into a private SUV by male personnel who were not wearing name badges, and that no woman officer was present inside the vehicle. Her colleagues said they did not know her exact location for some time. Police later confirmed she had been detained and taken to Narela Industrial Area police station. She was released in the evening, as were most others. The woman journalist who had alleged sexual harassment on Saturday was also among those detained on Sunday. She had gone to the Parliament Street police station the previous night with her complaint, and on Sunday she joined the march. After being taken away she told people nearby, “Instead of arresting the accused police officer, they have detained me. Is this justice?” Delhi Police has said that three women journalists filed complaints of sexual harassment against officers during Saturday’s protest, and that the complaints have been transferred to the Crime Branch for inquiry. No FIR has been registered so far, according to reports. Estimates of the number detained varied. Some accounts put the figure at around 250, others said nearly 500 people were picked up from different points in central Delhi and shifted in 10 to 15 buses. Police sources later spoke of roughly 110 detentions and claimed 12 to 15 officers were injured during scuffles. Heavy deployment – nearly 5,000 personnel including Rapid Action Force units, drones and CCTV monitoring – was visible throughout the day. Prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the BNSS remain in force in the New Delhi district. The protest itself is part of a wider anger over the ongoing SIR of electoral rolls. Opposition parties and activists have accused the Election Commission of opacity and of allowing deletions that could affect the fairness of future polls. The Commission has maintained that the exercise is meant to clean up duplicate and ineligible entries. Gyanesh Kumar has not issued any public comment on the street protests. On the ground, the mood among those who managed to stay out of police vans was defiant. “We will come again tomorrow,” several young protesters said as they regrouped near the barricades. Similar demonstrations were reported in Mumbai, where the Thackeray brothers led a march on the same issue. By late evening most of those detained had been released. The journalist who alleged harassment was also let go. But the questions she and the other two women raised remain unanswered. The Crime Branch inquiry is yet to begin in earnest, and the demand for Kumar’s removal continues to echo on Delhi’s streets for a third day. Sources:The Hindu, Indian Express, The Wire, Times of India, CNBC-TV18, Telegraph India, Deccan Herald, News18, Hindustan Times (reports dated 3–5 October 2026).
Congress Hits Streets Across India Demanding CEC Gyanesh Kumar Quit; AISA’s Neha Among Those Picked Up at Jantar Mantar
Yesterday on Friday the Congress and a bunch of student and civil society groups went all out against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. They’re saying he has to resign, some are even calling for his arrest. The whole thing is boiling over because of that Special Intensive Revision of the voter lists and that report about two other Election Commissioners raising objections several times. In Delhi the main action was around Jantar Mantar. AISA had called a protest, and a lot of familiar faces showed up – Neha Bora (she’s the AISA president), Dipankar Bhattacharya from CPI(ML), Yogendra Yadav, Prashant Bhushan, Anjali Bhardwaj and others. Police said nobody had taken permission, so they started rounding people up. Neha was among those detained. They took her to Kanjhawala police station. From there she sent out a video saying basically, “We only came to demand accountability. We’ll be back tomorrow.” Altogether police picked up around 150 people from three spots near Jantar Mantar and DDU Marg. Most were released by evening. Delhi Congress chief Devender Yadav was also detained when his group tried to march towards the Election Commission office. It wasn’t just Delhi. Congress workers came out in a lot of places. In Patna the police turned water cannons on them. Same thing in Chandigarh. In Imphal they used tear gas. In Guwahati they detained Gaurav Gogoi. In Lucknow the state Congress president was taken away. People burnt effigies, shouted slogans, the usual scene. K.C. Venugopal from the Congress made it clear they’re not stopping. He said the protests will continue till Kumar goes. They’re talking about moving notices in Parliament and they’ve already announced district-level protests for Monday. There’s a CWC meeting on Tuesday too. The other side is saying this is all political drama. The Election Commission maintains that internal differences are normal and the final decisions on the SIR were unanimous. Police keep repeating that no permission was given, so they had to clear the area. That’s pretty much where things stand right now. The opposition is treating this as a big fight over the fairness of the electoral process, and the government and the EC are holding their line. Looks like next week is going to be noisy as well. Sources: The Hindu, Hindustan Times, Indian Express, Siasat, Telegraph India, Deccan Chronicle, National Herald (25-26 September 2026 reports). @Rohit Manral