Which student organisations had members detained?

Members of the All India Youth Federation, the Students’ Federation of India (SFI), the All India Students’ Association (AISA) and the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) were detained.

Over 700 protesters detained in Delhi as protests against CEC Gyanesh Kumar continue

Q: How many people were detained across Delhi?

More than 700 people had been detained across Delhi, according to an officer at the Delhi Police headquarters.

Q: What restrictions did Delhi Police invoke?

Delhi Police invoked prohibitory restrictions under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), stating that unauthorised gatherings would invite legal action.

Student groups including AISA, SFI and NSUI held separate demonstrations, with hundreds detained from Connaught Place and other locations.

Updated on: Oct 12, 2026, 07:27:30 IST

By Hemani Bhandari, Jignasa Sinha, New Delhi

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More than 700 people have been detained across Delhi, according to an officer at the Delhi Police headquarters, as protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar continued for a second consecutive day over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Security personnel detain demonstrators during a protest near Jantar Mantar on Sunday. (Vipin Kumar/HT)

Through the day, police personnel remained deployed in heavy numbers in the city, particularly central Delhi, at the border and across the Capital in general. As sporadic protests developed, police officials were seen pulling, pushing, and dragging demonstrators into buses and vans deployed for this purpose.

Also read: Delhi protest highlights: CJP to give fresh call soon; CJI rejects Opposition request for meeting over SIR, CEC

Student Groups and Protest Marches

The first detentions were made around 11am and noon near Palika Bazaar in Connaught Place, where police picked up over 20-30 members of the All India Youth Federation.

Hundreds were then detained from other left-leaning student organisations, including the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) and All India Students’ Association (AISA).

AISA called a march at 2.30pm from RK Ashram Marg. Despite heavy deployment, several group members, including president Neha Bora, managed to enter CP. From there, over 100 people were detained around 3pm.

At the same time, nearly 3km away, nearly 70-100 activists of the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) were detained from outside the Press Club of India, where they tried to stage a sit-in protest.

Between 4-7 pm, hundreds of people who tried to stage marches and protests in CP were also detained.

Also read: What the October 10 protest says about the Opposition

Hundreds were then detained from other left-leaning student organisations, including the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) and All India Students’ Association (AISA). (HT Graphic)

Releases and Allegations of Assault

Police took the detainees to Chhatrasal Stadium, Najafgarh, Pandwalan Khurd and other areas. A number of them had been released within 5-7 hours.

The Delhi Police PRO has not responded to queries.

Detainees at Pandwalan Khurd alleged that they were beaten up by police. One of them, Arjun, said he was detained from CP and taken to Pandwalan Khurd, where they were made to stand in line and then beaten. “The torture continued as they took us to the ground. One protester with me had his hand fractured. My t-shirt got torn. One had injuries on his hand. We kept asking for our phones back....We were released after 9.30 pm.”

Also read: Bleeding protesters, detained journalists: New Delhi sees fresh chaos despite SC order

A few protesters shared photos and videos from the ground at Pandwalan Khurd, showing one protester with a torn T-shirt and others clashing with police while trying to retrieve their phones.

The DCP did not respond to further queries regarding the alleged assault and the phones.

By HT’s own count at least 12 journalists from national news organisations were also detained despite carrying identification. CPI(M) MP John Brittas said he was severely injured as police dragged and assaulted him. Along with him, two to three other CPIM members were also detained around 1 pm from CP.

Also read: Supreme Court stresses due process as detentions continue; Opposition and CJP vow to press on with protests

Earlier Detentions and Restrictions

This comes a day after over 7,000 people, including three ex-chief ministers were detained ahead of a planned protest led by the Cockroach Janta Party. Police on Sunday registered more than 20 first information reports (FIRs) “in connection with alleged attacks on police personnel during the demonstrations, with police citing attempts to disrupt law and order and obstruct government officials from performing their duties”, a senior officer said.

Also read: Right-wing groups assault protesters, journalists amid heavy security deployment in Delhi protest

Delhi Police have invoked prohibitory restrictions under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), stating that unauthorised gatherings would invite legal action.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Hemani Bhandari
Hemani Bhandari is a Special Correspondent with Hindustan Times in New Delhi, where she reports on crime, policing, governance and social issues. With over a decade of experience in journalism, she specialises in combining on-ground reporting with evidence-based storytelling to examine the human impact of public policy, law enforcement and urban governance. Over the years, she has reported extensively on major developments in the capital, including crime investigations, civic challenges, protests, and issues affecting vulnerable communities. As a Special Correspondent, she focuses on producing exclusive investigations, enterprise stories and long-form features that go beyond daily news cycles. She has a keen interest in using public records, official data and field reporting to uncover systemic issues and present complex subjects in an accessible manner. A graduate of the Asian College of Journalism, Hemani believes in rigorous, ethical and evidence-based reporting. She is passionate about investigative journalism and continuously seeks to expand her skills in data journalism, open-source investigations and digital reporting techniques.Read More
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jignasa Sinha
Jignasa Sinha is a Special Correspondent at Hindustan Times in New Delhi. With more than six years of reporting experience, she covers crime and policing in the national capital. Her beats also include Delhi prisons, the Delhi Fire Services and Delhi courts, while she regularly reports on gender, labour and social justice. Over the course of her career, Jignasa has reported on major criminal investigations, international crime syndicates, high-profile cyber fraud cases, law-and-order developments, protests, disasters and public institutions. Her reporting combines breaking news with in-depth, long form, human interest stories that examine the human impact of public policy, policing and the criminal justice system. In addition to reporting for the newspaper, she contributes to the Hindustan Times website and app, and plays an active role in coordinating on-ground coverage of major developments and breaking news across Delhi. Before joining Hindustan Times, Jignasa worked at The Indian Express newspaper in New Delhi, where she spent five years covering crime, Delhi airport, courts and health. She began her journalism career as an intern at an AI magazine in Bengaluru while pursuing her postgraduate diploma in multimedia journalism at the Indian Institute of Journalism and New Media.Read More

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