Ahmedabad: A planned protest demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls was stopped by police in Ahmedabad on Saturday, with more than 70 people detained before they could assemble.Deputy commissioner of police (Zone-VII) Shivam Varma said around 250 police personnel had been deployed near MJ Library at Ellisbridge Junction on Ashram Road. He said more than 70 people had been detained.The protesters alleged that the police action denied them the right to hold a peaceful demonstration. According to the organisers, women, journalists and senior citizens, including an 87-year-old man, were among those detained.Some detainees were taken to police stations in Ellisbridge, Vasna, Vejalpur and Sarkhej, the organisers said. They alleged that the police prevented the demonstration before the participants could gather.Savan Zalariya, one of the protesters, said he was detained while holding a placard. He questioned the manner in which women protesters were taken into custody.
A woman is detained by police during a protest demanding the resignation of election chief Gyanesh Kumar, in Ahmedabad, India, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026
“I was showing a placard and exercising my democratic right to protest. Two women protesters were detained along with me. There was no female police officer in the vehicle in which the women were taken. The policemen were in plain clothes. How can women be detained by personnel in plain clothes?” he said.
Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) supporters during a protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar in Ahmedabad, Saturday, October 10, 2026
Bhargav Oza, another protester, said student groups, youth organisations and people’s collectives had joined the demonstration. He said the principal demand was Kumar’s resignation over alleged irregularities in the SIR exercise, which protesters claimed had led to several names being deleted from the electoral rolls.
A man climb on a police vehicle is detained by police during a protest demanding the resignation of election chief Gyanesh Kumar, in Ahmedabad, India, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026
The protest was called by Student and Youth Collective Ahmedabad, Students’ Federation of India, Democratic Youth Front, Rashtriya Dalit Adhikar Manch, Association of Students for Alternative Politics and the National Students’ Union of India, among other groups.
