But much to their surprise, people began pouring into the streets from every direction. The tipping point
Up until 17 July, the CJP agitation had attracted a few hundred protesters. However, as social activist Sonam Wangchuk was forcefully removed by the Delhi Police officers behind white sheets, the protesters began pouring in. By noon of 18 July, students, retired teachers, professors, activists, actors and parents began joining the protest site through the night.By Monday morning, the protest site at Jantar Mantar was swarming with protestors. There were people on the streets, climbing on trees and police buses, behind the Delhi Police headquarters, and inside state government offices. They had outnumbered the Delhi Police and RAF personnel combined.As the clock ticked 9 am, those near the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) stage began moving towards the towering barricades. But beyond these barricades stood scores of Delhi police personnel wearing body cameras and civilian clothes, along with RAF squads and multiple anti-riot vehicles armed with tear gas and several private buses intended for transporting detainees. Most of the RAF officers did not have their name tags on. When the students began to cross the barricades towards Sansad Marg, a senior Delhi Police officer ordered: “Those with gas element in front.”The procession was halted near Kerala House, about 500 metres from Jantar Mantar, by heavy barricading, RAF contingents, water cannons and anti-riot vehicles. As protesters tried to move past the barricades, the police charged at them with lathis, tear gas and loudspeaker warnings, while some RAF personnel fired pellet guns.In a viral video on social media, the additional DCP Sandeep Lamba was seen slapping a woman. “Why didn’t you initiate legal action against additional DCP Sandeep Lamba. It is a cognisable offence and why is there no FIR,” Rishikesh Kumar, a lawyer, posted on X. The Delhi police later clarified that the officer had “lost his cool”. He was removed from the protest site; however, no legal or departmental action has been initiated against him. Social Media has also been rife with allegations of Delhi Police stopping students in public spaces from moving toward the protest site. CJP Spokesperson Ratna Singh posted on X alleging that students were being detained.“Police are detaining youth commuting by auto-rickshaw, cabs after setting up checkpoints at Lodhi Road, Nizamuddin, cops misbehaving with lawyers,” she said. Protesters also pointed out that the Delhi Police has been using a facial recognition system to create a database of protesters. “What law does the Delhi Police claim the power to randomly stop people, detain them for hours, photograph them, demand Aadhaar, collect social media handles, inspect phone galleries, and question them about attending #JantarMantar protests? Police are empowered to enforce the law and not to conduct fishing expeditions into citizens’ private lives and assume the role of certifying citizenship. We deserve to know exactly which provision authorises them to do what they have been doing on the ground for the past three days in Delhi,” wrote Kawalpreet Kaur, a lawyer.
