Delhi Police detained Yashaswinee Raje Singh, daughter of former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Vikram Singh, on Saturday near Gurdwara Bangla Sahib amidst a crackdown on protests concerning alleged irregularities in electoral rolls. Singh stated she was detained while present in a park close to the prominent Sikh shrine in the national capital.
Information was available with The Chenab Times that Singh conveyed her detention status via a social media post, indicating she was being held at the Keshav Puram police station. Her apprehension occurred as the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) had planned a demonstration at Jantar Mantar, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over allegations related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Yashaswinee Raje Singh is recognized as the daughter of Vikram Singh, who previously served as a BJP MLA representing the Fatehpur Sadar constituency in Uttar Pradesh. She has also been active in student protests, having participated in demonstrations in June and July concerning alleged examination paper leaks, where protesters called for the resignation of the then Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Singh had actively supported the CJP campaign during these earlier protests.
Her detention on Saturday has brought renewed attention to the involvement of student activists and younger protesters in campaigns addressing purported electoral irregularities. This incident is part of a broader sweep by Delhi Police, which detained over 2,000 protesters across the national capital on the same day. Authorities significantly enhanced security measures in anticipation of the planned CJP demonstration, deploying more than 40,000 personnel from the Delhi Police and Central Armed Police Forces throughout the city. Barricades and other traffic control measures were put in place at strategic locations to manage movement and prevent protesters from reaching their intended demonstration site at Jantar Mantar.
Several opposition leaders were also detained as they attempted to participate in the protest. Among those apprehended were four former chief ministers: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, and former Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar. Mamata Banerjee, who also leads the Trinamool Congress, was detained along with several party MPs from South Avenue in central Delhi after police intervention prevented their progression towards the protest venue. Reports indicate that Banerjee, along with five party MPs including Derek O’Brien and Dola Sen, was taken away in a police bus after she initially sat by a bus stop. During the incident, Banerjee was seen with a band-aid covering her mouth, a gesture reportedly aimed at expressing her dissent against the police action. She was quoted as saying, “The government is misbehaving with us. We the INDIA alliance will continue to fight to strengthen people’s voice.” Numerous other opposition and student leaders also faced detention as they attempted to converge at Jantar Mantar for the scheduled demonstration.
The Chenab Times News Desk