With roads deserted and protesters chased at Connaught Place, Delhi's crackdown was as physical as it was symbolic, marking a new chapter in capital's protest policing.
The contrast with July 20 was stark. Then, barricades were limited, traffic flowed. This time, every major road to Jantar Mantar, Parliament Street, Ashoka Road, Janpath, Kasturba Gandhi Road and Barakhamba Road was barricaded with two to three layers. At Connaught Place, protesters trying to assemble were chased by security personnel, images of which dominated front pages.
Police said they acted on intelligence that protesters would break barricades and reach Parliament Street. "We predicted agitators from UP, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan could reach New Delhi. So we ranged between 60-70 buses," an officer said. According to police, 250-300 protesters hiding around Connaught Place were detained.
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Among the prominent detained was YouTuber Dhruv Rathee, picked up from Gurugram at 5 am and taken to Crime Branch. Former Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, detained at Lodhi Estate, asked pointedly about accountability: “Who will take responsibility for hardships faced by office-going employees and patients trying to reach hospital?”
But the protest did not end at the stadium. After 5 pm, groups broke into flash protests at Dilli Haat, Safdarjung flyover and Raj Ghat. "Our fight for accountability is far from over," said protesters. For Ajeet Singh, injured earlier during a July protest, returning to the street was continuity: “For me, the protest has a longer history than just CJP.”
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For 27-year-old Hameed, who walked 2.5 km around police cordons from Raj Ghat, the act of reaching was resistance itself.
The state won the tactical battle of preventing a gathering at Jantar Mantar. But the visual of deserted streets, athletes practising beside detainees, and spontaneous flash mobs suggests protest in Delhi is becoming hydra-headed, harder to contain by barricades alone.
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