Three leaders affiliated with the Cockroach Janta Party — Abhijeet Dipke, Ashutosh Ranka, and Saurav Das — were taken into preventive custody on Sunday morning ahead of the group's planned 10 am gathering at Jantar Mantar. The detentions came a day after Delhi Police intervened to halt a CJP demonstration calling for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over allegations of vote theft and concerns about the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.

More than 7,000 people were detained across the capital as part of a broad security operation, with those held including opposition figures, former chief ministers, and content creator Dhruv Rathee. Figures from a broadcast news outlet put the number of people taken into custody across Delhi at upwards of 7,000, with the New Delhi area alone accounting for more than 2,000 of those held.

Dipke, Ranka, and Das were taken into custody by authorities upon their aircraft's arrival in Delhi on Saturday. A court appearance before the Executive Magistrate at Delhi Cantt Police Station was scheduled for them on Sunday. Dipke contended that the measure amounted to an overreach, pointing to the treatment of the leaders as grounds for the comparison — their handling, in his view, having mirrored the procedures typically reserved for those facing criminal charges.

A security presence of over 30,000 officers from Delhi Police and paramilitary units was spread across the capital as part of a coordinated deployment. Forces drawn from Central Armed Police units — more than 120 companies in total — were deployed alongside the police to support operations. Foot patrols kept those who had gathered away from the designated assembly point at Jantar Mantar, leaving the area with only a sparse presence throughout.

Roadblocks, thorough identity checks, and the shuttering of 45 underground stations left travel across multiple city districts notably hampered. Wine and spirit outlets throughout the Delhi area were shuttered as part of a preventive measure.

Arvind Kejriwal, Mamata Banerjee, Pinarayi Vijayan, and Manik Sarkar — all former chief ministers — were taken into custody along with others who had gathered to take part in the demonstration. Among those taken into custody were CPI(M) general secretary MA Baby, Left leader Brinda Karat, CPI(ML) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, activist Yogendra Yadav, lawyer Prashant Bhushan, and AISA president Neha.

On Saturday, police took Dhruv Rathee — a YouTuber based overseas who had come to take part in the protest — into custody from his home in Sector 56, Gurugram. He was released just before dawn on Sunday.

Around 1 pm, a group of demonstrators breached barricades near Akashwani Bhawan on Imtiaz Ali Marg, with some reported to have hurled stones toward security personnel at the scene. A separate incident of a comparable nature was later recorded near the Hanuman Temple in Connaught Place as the afternoon gave way to evening. Among the seven security personnel who sustained injuries, Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Anant Mittal was among those affected, with a wound to his hand. Formal complaints — potentially numbering several — were anticipated to be filed by law enforcement in connection with the assaults, according to a broadcast news outlet.

Banerjee characterised the restrictions as amounting to a "Super Emergency," while Kejriwal put forward the view that the security measures imposed were more oppressive than the Emergency period itself. Kharge, who leads the Congress party, characterised the ruling administration's approach to governance as having transformed a nation long regarded as democracy's founding wellspring into one where dissent finds itself effectively silenced.

Speaking at a gathering in Chennai, Gandhi urged young people to sustain their demonstrations and told those assembled that the opposition aimed to overcome those who had acted against the Constitution.

The BJP characterised the opposition's gathering as an ineffective display and alleged that the opposition was working to undermine national stability. BJP state president Nitin Nabin put forward the claim that Rahul Gandhi, Arvind Kejriwal, and the CJP were each receiving backing from entities based outside the country. BJP leader Sambit Patra described the detentions as a democratic outcome, while Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta stated that the capital would not be subjected to what she characterised as being held hostage.

Ahead of the planned gathering, officers ran preparedness exercises, kept watch over digital platforms, and reviewed internet content connected to the event. Investigations into the conduct of online content producers had drawn in upwards of 200 individuals, according to available accounts.

Members of the press reported that, though their official identity credentials were on display, they were taken into custody and their work-issued phones were confiscated by officers.

For a second day running, road users across the capital faced diversions at around 30 locations as movement restrictions remained in place. Traffic diversions taking effect from 6 am prompted police to urge those making non-essential journeys to reconsider their plans, with additional travel time recommended for anyone heading to railway stations, inter-state bus terminals, or the airport through the New Delhi and Central Delhi corridors.