Delhi Police has requested the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to shut 57 of its over 300 metro stations ahead of the proposed protests at Jantar Mantar and other locations in the capital, citing the likelihood of “unruly mob movement towards sensitive locations.”
The restrictions have been proposed in view of the protest called by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Saturday. The CJP, the Gen-Z youth protest movement whose sit-in at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar against the paper leak of the national medical entrance exam led to the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in July, has called for demonstrations against the Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar. The CJP, which was founded by Abhijeet Dipke in May, held a similiar protest against Kumar at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park last week. The police have denied permission for the protest, citing cited late submission of application and rule violations during a previous demonstration as reasons for denying the permission.
The police said they received the application seeking permission for the protest on October 7, just three days before the protest. However, according to rules, such applications have to be submitted at least 10 days in advance, they said.
In a letter on Thursday, Joint Commissioner of Police (Transport Range) Rajneesh Gupta requested the DMRC to close the entry/exit gates of these stations from 9 PM on Friday and on Saturday till the “situation normalises”.
