Political situation in India

Protester Pramod arrested: "We will be back"

Aditi Subramanian was one of thousands of protesters detained in India's capital, New Delhi, on Saturday.

"The police arrested us and forcibly threw us onto a bus," she told ABC.

Train and metro stations were shut down during the protests, and internet access was cut off near several gathering points. Videos circulating in various media outlets and on social media show journalists, who were on site to report on the events, being taken away by police.

The demonstrations were organized by the youth movement and party known as "The Cockroaches," which is demanding the resignation of Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar after 130 million people were removed from the country's electoral rolls.

"We won't let him fool the people anymore. We will be back tomorrow," said protester Pramod Kumar, who was also detained on Saturday.

Abhijeet Dipke released following mass protests

Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the Indian protest movement "The Cockroaches," has been released from custody. His lawyer announced this in a post on X, according to AFP.

Dipke was arrested on Saturday ahead of planned demonstrations against India's election commissioner and a controversial change to the country's electoral system. Several thousand people were also detained during the protests.

"If you think you can stop us by threatening us with prison, you are wrong. We are ready to go to jail," Dipke said at the time of his arrest, according to ABC.

The UN has called on Indian authorities to immediately release everyone who participated in the peaceful protests. “Measures against peaceful protests must meet strict requirements of necessity and proportionality,” points out Thameen Al-Kheetan, spokesperson for the UN Human Rights Office.