CEC protests: Freed by court, 14 CJP activists shift protest from Delhi to Pune

Fourteen students and activists announced on Friday that they will hold their anti-CEC demonstration in Pune rather than Delhi, following their release from detention by Madhya Pradesh police as ordered by the High Court.

The group had been taken into custody from a train on Thursday while traveling to the national capital to join Saturday's CJP protest.

Associated with various student and youth organizations, the activists planned to demonstrate for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, the cancellation of the SIR exercise, and broader electoral reforms. The MP High Court ordered their release after family members of detainees Shravani Bua and Preeti Londhe submitted a habeas corpus petition.


Also read: 'Arrest us all, we are surrounding you': Rahul Gandhi targets PM Modi, RSS on CEC row

A division bench of Chief Justice A P Kogje and Justice Vivek Jain ordered the state to present the students before the court on October 13, noting that they could be produced sooner after notifying the petitioners and securing their safe return home.

NSYF member Akash Nawale confirmed the group would return to Pune instead of traveling to Delhi. "We are trying to make arrangements to return to Pune because govt has stopped all ways to travel to Delhi. We will return to Pune and protest there," he stated, adding that he and fellow activist Niharika Bhosale had ended their hunger strike.

The detention sparked complaints of police violence and unlawful confinement. The activists stated they were forcibly taken off the Goa Express at Itarsi station on Thursday and held inside a private resort's banquet hall.

Shravani Bua, a student activist with the AISF, stated that the group was "brutally dragged out" of the train and denied medical attention for injuries. Bhosale added that plainclothes officers tracked and photographed them during their trip without consent, alleging that police twisted the hands of several detainees while placing them under arrest.

Also read: Mallikarjun Kharge slams government over detentions, calls India a ‘Muzzled Democracy’

The students noted that a Maharashtra police team initially stopped them at Bhusawal station before Madhya Pradesh police detained them at Itarsi.

The incident follows reports from several youth leaders in Maharashtra who said police questioned them about their travel plans to the Delhi rally. Pune activist Mayur Malkhede stated that Ballarpur police issued him a notice under Section 168 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, asking for details regarding his proposed travel and warning him against going to Delhi.

Responding to the detentions, CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke posted on social media: "Why not just declare an emergency?"

Social activist Vijay Kumbhar also challenged the legality of the police notices, asking, "What exactly is wrong with govt - is it threatening people, or is it afraid?"