Delhi Metro closures and Jantar Mantar: internet cut, 500-plus detained, AAP leaders held

Status as of 2:10 pm IST on Friday 2 October 2026. This is developing. By 9:00 am IST, entry and exit were closed at 11 Delhi Metro stations until further notice, and Delhi Police had refused permission for an 11 am protest at Jantar Mantar. By early afternoon, reports described detentions above 500 and a mobile-internet suspension still in place around the site. Neutral Politics checked the morning metro and police reports, then The Hindu's live blog, Mid-day, Deccan Chronicle carrying PTI, India TV, Times Now, The New Indian Express, The Week, Mint and the Election Commission's 26 September statement. The afternoon accounts were checked at 2:10 pm IST. This note was first posted at 10:14 am IST and updated at 2:17 pm IST.

The 11 stations, as The Economic Times, The Times of India, ABP Live and The Indian Express quote DMRC, are Janpath, Patel Chowk, Central Secretariat, Rajiv Chowk, Seva Teerth, Mandi House, Lok Kalyan Marg, INA, Chawri Bazar, Ramakrishna Ashram Marg and New Delhi. The DMRC post was not opened directly. Interchange, in the first three of those outlets, continues at Rajiv Chowk, Mandi House, New Delhi and Central Secretariat. The Indian Express also lists INA. Whether that interchange is open is not settled. ABP Live reports traffic diversions near Connaught Place, Patel Chowk, the GPO, Tolstoy Marg, Jantar Mantar Road and Parliament Street.

Delhi Police refused permission for the protest called by AISA, Manoj Jha and advocate Prashant Bhushan. Police sources that morning expected 3,000 to 4,000 people. That figure is an estimate. It is not a turnout, and it is not the detention count. PTI, Mint and Times Now report that Section 163 BNSS is in force in New Delhi district.

The Hindu live blog, updated at 2:03 pm IST, and PTI and Mid-day report that more than 500 protesters were detained. Mid-day is timed at 1:18 pm IST. Deccan Chronicle, carrying PTI, is timed at 1:40 pm IST. An exact official count is not in a police press release. India TV earlier said 50-plus. AAP leaders Saurabh Bharadwaj, Sanjeev Jha and Atishi were detained, as The Hindu, Mid-day and PTI report. The Hindu live blog also reports Neha Bora, Manoj Jha, and SFI and DYFI activists detained. On Sanjay Singh the reports split. The Hindu and PTI list him among those detained. Mid-day and The New Indian Express say police stopped him at North Avenue.

Mobile internet remains suspended around the site, as The Hindu and India TV report. No restoration was reported at 2:10 pm. The Internet Freedom Foundation, as Times Now reports it, says Jio users near Connaught Place got an SMS at about 9:40 am: "As per government instructions Internet services have been stopped in your area till further notice." The foundation wants the written order published. The area, the end time and who ordered the suspension are not confirmed.

The demand is a claim. Organisers and leaders allege irregularities in the electoral rolls and seek the resignation or removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Morning reports also described a call for impeachment. The irregularities are alleged. They are not findings. The Election Commission, in a 26 September statement as Mint reported it, said SIR orders had the unanimous approval of the full Commission. Its press note that day says: "Differing views and observations are a normal part of deliberation in any institution."

What's next

What is not known yet is when the stations reopen, whether the INA interchange is open, an official detention count, whether people detained have been released, and who ordered the internet suspension, over what area, until when. The resignation and removal demand stays alleged.