NewDelhi (Net): Political leaders and activists from opposition parties, including Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee, Pinarayi Vijayan, AISA leader Neha Bora, activists Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan, were detained in New Delhi on Saturday as protests against the Election Commission of India intensified. Delhi Police imposed tight security measures, preventing demonstrators from reaching Jantar Mantar and detaining hundreds of people near the Connaught Place area, reports The Indian Express. Mamata and other TMC leaders were detained outside the former West Bengal chief minister’s residence in Delhi. Neha, Yadav and Bhushan were also detained while heading towards Dilli Haat after police restrictions prevented protesters from gathering at Jantar Mantar. The activists urged people to march to Dilli Haat after police detained at least 200 people attempting to reach Jantar Mantar. Earlier in the morning, Cockroach Janata Party founder Abhijeet Dipke and Germany-based YouTuber Dhruv Rathee were detained ahead of the planned demonstration demanding the resignation of Election Commission of India chief over alleged irregularities in voter rolls. A team of Delhi Police entered the aircraft carrying Dipke after it landed in Delhi on Saturday morning. Dipke broadcast the incident live on Instagram, showing police entering the plane and detaining him alongside fellow CJP members Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka. Rathee was detained at his residence in Gurugram after he refused police requests not to travel to Delhi to attend the CJP-organised protest, for which permission had not been granted, police said. India deployed thousands of police personnel in the capital and restricted transport services in and around Delhi ahead of the demonstrations, reports AFP.
