Delhi Police Denies Permission for October 2 Jantar Mantar Protest

Delhi Police has denied permission for a protest planned at Jantar Mantar on October 2, while deploying additional security in central New Delhi ahead of the expected gathering. The protest, called by the All India Students Association (AISA), Rajya Sabha member Manoj Jha and lawyer Prashant Bhushan, is intended to demand the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in electoral rolls and election conduct. Police said permission had not been granted for the proposed demonstration and reported that personnel and barricades were being deployed around Jantar Mantar and nearby roads. The site has been blocked from the Tolstoy Marg and Kerala Bhawan sides, with further barricades near Ashoka Road and along routes including Janpath Road and Sansad Marg. Police accounts also described security measures at entry and exit points and in the surrounding New Delhi district. Advance estimates of possible attendance varied. Police sources cited in reports put the expected crowd at between 3,000 and 4,000, while another police account said about 5,000 people might attend. Those estimates do not establish how many people will ultimately appear.