New Delhi: Delhi Police did little to go against what has emerged its usual policy of mass detentions of students, youth activists, journalists and others who had gathered to protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and demand his resignation in Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on October 4.Citizens had gathered to join a march to the India Gate from Jantar Mantar and were met with significant companies of police and security forces. As on October 2 and 3, protesters were met with barricades. On October 3, many were able to climb over them.On October 5, the Supreme Court heard a mention of a plea on restrictions on protests at Jantar Mantar and elsewhere in Delhi. Bar and Bench noted that the petitioner sought directions to Delhi Police to permit peaceful protests, claiming students, citizens and political representatives were not being allowed to protest.Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, however, said that similar matters are already listed today. His bench is to hear pleas questioning whether Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar took key Election Commission decisions, including on SIR, without the nod of the two other Election Commissioners.It is these considerations that have also led to the protests in Delhi and several other cities.Detentions in unmarked cars, no women copsAll India Students’ Association (AISA) national president Neha Bora was detained in an unmarked car which was indistinguishable from private vehicles. For a while, the rally continued behind the car but at a point, it sped off.The vehicle, notably, did not have appear to have a single policewoman in it.AISA national president Neha Bora photographed in the police car in which she was taken away to an undisclosed location from today’s protest in New Delhi, against the CEC Gyanesh Kumar.Once the vehicle sped away, Neha was no longer reachable on her phone, leading to heightened calls for accountability from Delhi Police on where she was.All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) leaders Asha Sharma and Maimoona Mollah, RTI activist Anjali Bharadwaj, activist Navsharan Singh and other senior leaders reached Parliament Street Police Station seeking information about Neha and other women activists. AISA general secretary Prasenjeet and Delhi secretary Abhigyan wrote to the Delhi commissioner of police against what the group called Neha’s “abduction.”“Is this kidnapping by the police of a peaceful protestor?” lawyer Prashant Bhushan asked on X.Close to 8 pm, the CPIML-Liberation announced that Neha has been released at the Narela Industrial Area PS, but crucially, did not have her bag and phone with her. Eventually, Neha got them back. The police station she was released at was a whopping 42 kilometres away.INDIA bloc leaders Derek O’Brien, from the Mamata Banerjee faction of the Trinamool Congress, were vocal during the detention.RJD MP Manoj Jha criticised the police action. “Even if Delhi Police is under the command of some ‘Emperor’, it must pause at least once and reflect on why such barbaric treatment is being meted out to members of families just like their own,” Jha said in a post on X.Treatment of womenSerious allegations have been made that some Delhi Police officials manhandled and assaulted women protesters at the site.On October 5, Delhi Police detained one of the three women journalists who had alleged sexual assault by Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Vivek Bhagat on October 2, along with several others. There is no FIR in the case yet.But from October 2 to October 4, the protests saw police dragging and manhandling multiple women protesters and journalists.Police personnel detain activists near India Gate during a protest demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, in New Delhi, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. Photo: PTI.Police without nametagsDelhi Police continued to be without identifying nametags. On October 2, police had refused to tell The Wire’s journalists why they were not wearing any.Now a small thread on all the cops I saw without nametags. This is just a few I was able to capture… There were many more. Every second cop was without a name tagTell me @DelhiPolice why this was so?@aisa_official_ @IYC @Cockroachisback https://t.co/WT6IpnVS7m— Noor Enayat (@noorenayat) October 4, 2026