Students from various Left organisations held a protest at Jantar Mantar on Wednesday against the “police crackdown” in States such as West Bengal, Bihar, and Assam on protesters who participated in the 36-day stir led by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) in New Delhi.

The protest, the first at Jantar Mantar since the CJP called off its stir on July 25, started at 3 p.m. and continued for around two hours. The call was issued by 13 outfits, including the Students’ Federation of India, All India Students’ Association (AISA), Krantikari Yuva Sangathan, and All India Students’ Federation.

AISA national president Neha, who was on hunger strike for 23 days in the CJP-led stir, was also present at the protest.

Students held up placards and posters that read ‘Rise in rage’ and ‘Stop implicating students on false charges’. Some also called for the resignation of Union Home Minister Amit Shah over “police brutality” during the July 20 ‘Chalo Sansad’ march.

The protesters walked past barricades welded together by the police to create an enclosed space and regulate entry.

‘Not terrorists’

Meanwhile, CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke on Wednesday demanded action against those responsible for ordering the use of pellet guns on July 20. Asserting that “students are not terrorists”, Mr. Dipke warned that a fresh agitation on a “much bigger scale” would be launched if “harassment” by police forces continues. “In many States, police are visiting the homes of students and threatening them with arrests,” he told reporters at the Aurangabad airport on his way home.

In a post on X, the CJP accused the Delhi police of issuing takedown notices and registering FIRs to remove social media posts criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

When reached for comment, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations) Vinit Kumar said, “We send notices for content that spreads misinformation, has AI-generated or deepfake content or is misleading in any form. The process is part of our social media monitoring.”

(With inputs from PTI)

Published - July 30, 2026 01:11 am IST