New Delhi : Delhi Police have registered an FIR against protesters detained at Minto Road on November 1 after members of the Disha Students’ Organisation attempted to march towards Jantar Mantar, which is no longer a designated protest site, despite permission being granted for a rally at Ramlila Maidan.
According to police, members of the Disha Students’ Organisation took out the march towards Jantar Mantar at around 5 pm on November 1. The protesters were detained by police at Minto Road.
The rally at Ramlila Maidan had been permitted by the authorities. However, some protesters allegedly attempted to move beyond the permitted venue and march towards Jantar Mantar, prompting police action.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Delhi Police told the Supreme Court that its decision to denotify Jantar Mantar as a designated protest venue was based primarily on the recommendations of a Ministry of Home Affairs committee and was taken after considering the changed ground situation, including traffic obstruction, crowd management and the impact of protests on residents, government offices and emergency services.
In a counter-affidavit in journalist Swaty Singh’s plea challenging the denotification, Delhi Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar said it was incorrect to suggest that Jantar Mantar was denotified pursuant to the Supreme Court’s October 9 order in the M.A. Baby case.
The police said the proposal to change the notified protest venue had been under consideration by it and the Central government for a considerable period. The MHA had constituted a committee on August 26 to examine whether Jantar Mantar should continue as a designated protest site and to suggest alternative venues.
Meanwhile, the INDIA bloc on Sunday held a mega rally at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan against alleged irregularities in electoral rolls and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. Top Opposition leaders, including Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, attended the event.
The march started from the Minto Road-Connaught Place junction towards Ramlila Maidan, where thousands of supporters converged.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar of facilitating alleged vote theft and said he would be removed from his post and jailed.