Those held include AAP leaders and activists of several student organisations. Mobile internet was suspended around Jantar Mantar on Friday as Delhi Police detained about 500 protesters demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Internet services were cut at the protest site and in surrounding areas. Police have not been quoted confirming those exact hours in the reports available. Rapid Action Force personnel and a riot control vehicle were also deployed. Police declared the gathering unlawful and removed protesters from the site. AAP leaders Saurabh Bharadwaj, Sanjeev Jha, Atishi and Sanjay Singh were among those taken into custody.
The suspension was in force from 9 am to 9 pm within a 1.5-km radius of Jantar Mantar, according to the report. Police said 8 to 9 zones had been created in and around Jantar Mantar, each under a senior IPS officer. DCP New Delhi Sachin Sharma said Section 163 of the BNSS was in force in the district, and protests, demonstrations and marches were not permitted. A police source said around 700 SFI members who tried to reach Jantar Mantar were stopped at the Ashoka Road roundabout, and many were detained there. One police official put the total at about 500. An earlier official estimate was around 150.
Delhi Police said permission for the protest had been denied.
