Indian authorities detain thousands in Delhi to prevent youth-led protest against Modi government and election chief
Indian police detained thousands of protesters in New Delhi on Saturday, October 10, 2026, preventing a planned demonstration by the youth-led "Cockroach" movement at Jantar Mantar. The protest targeted Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and demanded an end to the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision, which has removed more than 130 million names from voter rolls. Police said they had denied permission for the protest because the request was submitted too late.
Indian authorities imposed a sweeping security lockdown across New Delhi on Saturday to block a demonstration organized by the "Cockroach" movement, a youth-led political group that began online in May 2026 and has grown into a significant force challenging Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government. Police barricaded Jantar Mantar, the designated protest site, deployed anti-riot vehicles equipped with tear gas launchers, established vehicle checkpoints on routes into the capital, and imposed restrictions on mobile internet access and movement in parts of the city.
Three of the movement's key leaders — Abhijeet Dipke, Saurav Das, and Ashutosh Ranka — were detained after arriving at Delhi airport from Mumbai. A video shared by the movement on social media showed police boarding the aircraft and detaining the three men before they could reach the protest site. Opposition lawmakers, including Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi and lawmaker John Brittas, were also detained. Loudspeakers around the protest site warned that gatherings of five or more people were prohibited in parts of the capital, and journalists faced restrictions in some areas, with police briefly detaining some of them.
The protests center on the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision of voter rolls, which the opposition says has disenfranchised millions of eligible voters — particularly those more likely to support opposition parties — while largely sparing or adding BJP supporters. The Election Commission and government reject those characterizations, saying the revision is intended to remove duplicate and ineligible entries. Sambit Patra, a spokesperson for Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party, dismissed the protesters as "anarchic elements," saying their "flop show has been completely demolished."