Delhi locks down to block protests seeking CEC Gyanesh Kumar exit

Delhi locks down to block protests seeking CEC Gyanesh Kumar exit On Friday evening, at least 30, 000 police and paramilitary forces had thrown an unprecedented multi-level security blanket over Delhi.

Key points

• 8 min read New Delhi Updated: Oct 10, 2026 04: 23 AM IST.
• Written by: Pragynesh, Mahender Singh Manral, Alok Singh, Sakshi Chand, Dheeraj Mishra, Devansh Mittal.
• On Friday evening, at least 30, 000 police and paramilitary forces had thrown an unprecedented multi-level security blanket over Delhi.
• Police place barricades at Vijay Chowk as part of security arrangements on Friday, a day before the protests at Jantar Mantar.

Police place barricades at Vijay Chowk as part of security arrangements on Friday, a day before the protests at Jantar Mantar. (Photo: Abhinav Saha).

Forty five stations on the Delhi Metro network were closed, at least 245 trains arriving at or leaving New Delhi and Hazrat Nizamuddin stations were cancelled, mobile Internet was shut down in a sizeable part of Central Delhi, and layers of barricades were put up throughout the streets of the Capital and at its borders as the administration moved to fortify the city against the protest called on Saturday by the Cockroach Janta Party, the All India Students' Association and others to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

On Friday evening, at least 30, 000 police and paramilitary forces had thrown an unprecedented multi-level security blanket over Delhi. Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan wrote to all states and Union Territories to say that the administration had prohibited Saturday's assembly, and to direct them to coordinate with the Delhi Police to "pre-empt any breach of public tranquility and to safeguard critical infrastructure".

In short, delhi locks down to block protests seeking CEC Gyanesh Kumar exit is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.