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Delhi Police on Sunday detained protesters gathered at the Inner Circle of Connaught Place, where members of the Students' Federation of India (SFI) and Left parties staged a protest amid a heavy police deployment.
The detentions came a day after heightened security and large-scale detentions in the national capital over a Cockroach Janata Party (CJP)-led protest at Jantar Mantar demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar. Meanwhile, CJP leaders Abhijeet Dipke, Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das were released after being produced before the Executive Magistrate at Delhi Cantt Police Station following their preventive arrest. CJP legal affairs head Ratna Singh confirmed their release. The party is scheduled to address a press conference at 2 pm on Sunday, shortly after the release of its key members. CJP activist Abhijeet Dipke had also claimed in a video posted on Instagram that police detained him and his associates as they deboarded a flight from Mumbai at Delhi airport while travelling to participate in the protest. Delhi Police has also registered more than 20 FIRs in connection with attempts to forcibly stage a protest on October 10, citing allegations of disturbing law and order, obstructing government work and assaulting police personnel. Police said four people had been detained in the matter. A video that went viral on social media, reportedly from October 10, shows four people allegedly assaulting some protesters near the Civic Centre. Police detained activists from an aircraft, barricades were erected at the Ghazipur border, and gates at 45 Metro stations remained closed, triggering allegations of a crackdown on democratic rights and a counterattack from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). On Saturday, Delhi witnessed heightened security, mass detentions and a political showdown as the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)-led protest at Jantar Mantar, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, was met with a heavy police deployment. Around 1,000 people were detained in the national capital, among them some of the Opposition's biggest names, including Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal and CPI(M) leader Pinarayi Vijayan. By evening, allegations of "dictatorship" and "anarchy" were being traded across the political divide. (ANI)
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