Delhi’s impenetrable fortress: Did the Cockroaches manage to bite back?

An impenetrable fortress. Perhaps no other phrase could better describe Delhi on the morning of Mahalaya, the beginning of the Hindu festive season. We had a glimpse of what was coming as early as Friday morning. The Delhi Police requested the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation to shut down 57 metro stations. Nearly 250 train services were cancelled. More than 26,000 armed personnel were deployed.

From Friday evening, checks began on some of Delhi’s busiest roads. Police and security personnel started stopping vehicles and questioning people near Jantar Mantar and even around the airport. About an hour later, internet services were suspended across large parts of central Delhi, including areas around Jantar Mantar. The airport also issued a travel advisory.

Why all this?

The Cockroaches were returning after July. This time, the target was Gyanesh Kumar, following Dharmendra Pradhan. The issue was no longer the NEET question paper, but the ballot paper.

But did all these measures manage to stop the Cockroaches?

The morning of Mahalaya: A city under siege

As the festive season began, people took to the streets of Delhi in the morning. Detentions began around 7–7.30 am. As the saying goes, morning shows the day. By 8.30–9 am, the police had detained nearly 150 protesters. The numbers continued to climb by the minute.

By the time I began writing this piece at the end of the day, the total number of detentions had crossed 5,000.

Metro stations were shut. Trains were cancelled. Roads were barricaded. But the protesters were undeterred.

People of different ages, from Gen Z to older citizens, began making their way towards Jantar Mantar on foot, in their own vehicles or in hired cars.

They did not get far. The Delhi Police prevented them from assembling. People were detained at Connaught Place, Mandi House and even Safdarjung, some distance away from Jantar Mantar.

The crowds were dispersed. For a moment, they lost ground. But they did not turn back.

There were scuffles with the police. People resisted. Some even managed to break free and escape.

Detentions begin before the protest leaders land

Tensions escalated by the hour.

Abhijeet Dipke, Sourav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were scheduled to land in Delhi at around 9.30 am. They were detained by the police before they could even step out of the aircraft.

They were taken into custody inside the plane itself.

Has anything like this happened before in India's recent history? I do not know.

Two forces on Delhi’s Streets

It was noon. Two forces stood in opposition on the streets of Delhi: the police and security personnel on one side, and the people on the other.

The protesters were accompanied by a sea of flags. Left-wing student organisations took to the streets, carrying the national flag in one hand and the red flag in the other. The CPI(M), CPI, Liberation and other Left parties joined in solidarity.

At Dilli Haat, Neha Bora walked hand in hand with fellow protesters. Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav joined the march.

Neha Bora was detained.

Hundreds of protesters gathered around her bus, refusing to leave her isolated.

The streets had become a battleground between a state determined to prevent a gathering and a citizenry determined to make its presence felt.

The cockroaches are not done yet

The day ended, but the uncertainty continued.

According to sources within the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), there was still no information about Ranka, Dipke or Sourav Das. The party described them as having been 'abducted'.

For now, CJP's responsibilities have passed into the hands of Ajinkya Shinde, who has called for another march to Jantar Mantar tomorrow. Left-wing organisations, too, have announced that they intend to remain on the streets.

All things considered, Jantar Mantar 2.0 is far from over.

If anything, the movement looks more likely to grow.