Roughly 300 individuals were taken into custody on Sunday at Dadar's Shivaji Park before a demonstration by the Cockroach Janta Party could fully assemble, with the detentions marking the second consecutive day of police action tied to the party's claims of irregularities in the electoral process.
A gathering of supporters assembled near Shiv Sena Bhavan in Dadar, where Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray, his brother Tejas, and their cousin Amit Thackeray of the MNS took part in an unplanned demonstration, after which the detained individuals were freed. Members of the Thackeray family gave notice that demonstrations across the state would grow in scale from Monday onward.
Police indicated they were moving to register a case related to the Shivaji Park gathering on grounds of unlawful assembly. Aaditya, speaking to reporters after the detained individuals were released, said that if authorities closed off one venue, protests would shift elsewhere, and characterised the situation as an undeclared state of emergency. He added that detention remained a possibility for anyone at any point.
Aaditya contended that the number of security personnel deployed in Delhi exceeded what the Centre had stationed there during the Kargil conflict, and he questioned the rationale behind positioning BSF units within the city against its own residents. He stated that demonstrations would continue for as long as chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar held his post without stepping aside.
A notice was submitted to police by MNS ahead of a planned gathering at Shivaji Park, scheduled to begin at 4pm on Monday. Aaditya noted that further details about the planned agitation would be posted on X, adding that ensuring a safe environment for those involved remained a core obligation of his team.
Amit Thackeray described observing officers pull over young pedestrians near Shivaji Park one evening, and raised the question of whether the area had taken on the character of a place under armed occupation. He expressed plans to return to that location each day, telling those present to arrest him if they would.
A gathering at Shivaji Park, scheduled for 4pm on Sunday, had been organised by CJP and a number of other organisations. A visible police presence was established at both Dadar Metro station and Dadar railway station, with officers positioned near gate 6 — the entrance closest to the statue of Meenatai Thackeray — to restrict any gathering of protesters in the area. Barriers were placed across every approach to the entrance as a preventive measure.
Restrictions placed on Samya Korde, the Shetkari Kamgar Paksh leader, confined her to her residence. A number of residents reported that officers positioned themselves at building entrances, cutting off access for those who had intended to join the demonstration. Officers began making arrests as the gathering grew through the afternoon hours.
Accounts from a number of those present at the demonstration described individuals being physically seized and loaded into police vehicles. Social activist Anjali Damania, among those taken into custody, told reporters that the nation was operating under what she described as an unofficial state of emergency, adding that she was being held at Tardeo police station. No formal accusation had been laid out against those involved at that point, leaving the nature of any alleged wrongdoing unresolved.
Posting on X, Damania questioned whether any criticism of the government was permissible, and pointed to a Supreme Court ruling that affirmed the right to peaceful protest cannot be curtailed.
Discontent that began among students has since taken hold across a wider cross-section of the public. Two parties in India are advancing competing visions of what the country stands for, with each laying claim to a different understanding of national purpose. Questions about how governance is conducted at both the state and national level have drawn renewed attention from observers.
The footage from the demonstration, observers have noted, warrants attention from Mumbai police authorities. Protections for peaceful assembly form a recognised feature of democratic governance.
A 25-year-old detained at Tardeo police station experienced a medical episode and was transferred to Nair Hospital, after which a police official confirmed the individual had been discharged from custody. Roughly 600 people taken into custody after gathering at August Kranti Maidan for a protest on Saturday were subsequently released by authorities. A first information report naming 12 individuals, along with approximately 350 others, was filed in connection with that protest.
