Delhi Police Tighten Jantar Mantar Security to Block Protesters Marching to Parliament
On Saturday, the Delhi Police intensified security at Jantar Mantar in the New Delhi district and prepared to block an unauthorized protest march to Parliament scheduled for Monday. The march, planned for the first day of the Monsoon Session, was called by Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) chief Abhijeet Dipke and Gitanjali Angmo, the wife of activist Sonam Wangchuk, to demand the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET paper leak issue.
By Saturday evening, the crowd of supporters at Jantar Mantar had swelled to nearly 800 people, marking the largest gathering witnessed at the protest site in the past two weeks. In response, police deployed between 200 and 300 personnel, including round-the-clock deployments of DCP and additional DCP level officers to monitor the situation.
According to police officials, the protesters have neither obtained permission to continue their sit-in at Jantar Mantar nor applied for permission to hold the march to Parliament, which is located about a kilometre away. Prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), which bans public gatherings, remain in force in the New Delhi district, making it highly unlikely that the march will be permitted.
Security measures at the protest site have been heavily upgraded. Authorities have set up multiple layers of screening, requiring visitors to pass their bags through conveyor-belt scanners and undergo two rounds of frisking and body scanner checks. A riot control vehicle is stationed on standby outside the barricaded area, and groups of police personnel are positioned near the protest stage.
The Delhi Police have also alerted law enforcement agencies in neighbouring states to monitor any groups of people heading toward the national capital.
The protest originally began on June 20, when CJP chief Abhijeet Dipke held a demonstration demanding Minister Pradhan's resignation. Although Dipke had permission for only a single day, the protest continued. Activist Sonam Wangchuk later joined the cause, announcing an indefinite hunger strike. On Saturday, police shifted Wangchuk to Safdarjung Hospital after his health deteriorated. His wife, Gitanjali Angmo, alleged that the administration has not provided her with accurate information regarding his health status.
