NEW DELHI: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday said she had started a dharna at Dwarka North police station along with five Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs after they were detained amid protests in Delhi.In a post on X, Banerjee alleged that they had been “kidnapped” and driven around in a prison van for two hours.“4pm. Along with our 5 MPs, we have started our dharna at Dwarka North PS where we have been brought. We were kidnapped and driven around in a prison van for two hours. I am not returning to Kolkata tonight and in protest against all that is happening today against the youth and all, I will join the I.N.D.I.A march on Monday,” she wrote.Earlier, around 1,000 protesters have been detained across the national capital so far on Saturday while attempting to march towards Jantar Mantar for a Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)-led protest demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, Delhi Police sources said.Delhi Police continued to take demonstrators into preventive custody, informing them that permission had not been granted for the gathering.CJP activist Abhijeet Dipke, who travelled from Mumbai to Delhi to participate in the protest, posted a video on Instagram alleging that police personnel detained him and his associates as they disembarked from their flight at Delhi airport.In the video, Dipke alleged that police personnel entered the aircraft and attempted to detain them.“So, you can see that Delhi Police is entering the plane to arrest us. They are all entering the plane. We just landed. All the Delhi Police officers are standing in the aisle. They are trying to arrest us from inside the plane. The entire Delhi Police is getting on the plane… This is the fear of Narendra Modi… Not even Indira Gandhi did this during the Emergency. All we wanted to do is a peaceful protest, and they are picking us up from the flight like we are criminals,” he said.He further alleged, “You can see where the nation is heading. They are here to arrest us directly from the flight. This is something not even Indira Gandhi had done. This is dictatorship, where Delhi Police has entered the flight and is trying to arrest us. Come on, arrest us. We are here to be arrested. Come on, arrest us. We are here to be arrested… We are not afraid of you.”Meanwhile, security personnel remained deployed at several locations across the national capital as CJP activists continued their call for a protest against the Election Commission of India (ECI). Entry points to Delhi were placed under heightened security, while 46 Metro stations remained closed, according to the details provided.As part of the security arrangements, the New Delhi district was divided into 20 operational zones, with dedicated detention centres established for each zone, police said.“The New Delhi district has been divided into 20 zones, and dedicated detention centres have been set up for each zone. Stadiums across the national capital have also been converted into temporary detention centres,” the police added.(With Agency Inputs)
