Madhya Pradesh police detain 14 students heading to Delhi to protest against CJP, quote ‘orders from above’

Police claimed that the students were released on Friday, October 9, 2026, but refused to leave the private hotel where they were being held. Photo credit: Special arrangement

Madhya Pradesh Government Railway Police (GRP) detained 14 students at Itarsi Junction railway station. The students had traveled from Pune to attend the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest planned for October 10 in New Delhi, police said on Friday (October 9, 2026).

The students are said to be members of the All India Students Federation (AISF). The CJP has called for a protest at Jantar Mantar to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over allegations of irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Senior police officers, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they detained the students while searching Delhi-bound trains on “orders from above”. However, they claimed that the students were released on Friday but refused to leave the private hotel where they were kept.

Meanwhile, the Madhya Pradesh high court on Friday issued notices to the state and police authorities and asked them to produce the students before it on or before October 13.

A habeas corpus petition was filed by the family of two of the 14 detained students. The court also ordered the authorities to ensure the safe return of the students to their families.

A senior GRP officer told The Hindu that the students were detained on Thursday (October 8) evening under Section 172 (persons required to comply with lawful directions of the police) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023 and taken to a hotel.

However, the officer said he could not discuss the matter further as “everything was done on orders from above”.

A GRP officer in Itarsi said the students were picked up from the Goa Express as they did not have permission to join the protest.

Asked if a citizen needed a permit to participate in the protest, the officer said, “Of course they do. There has to be a system to stop all of this. And we were acting on the orders we were given.”

Many videos, including the police forcefully removing students from the train, have gone viral.

CJP shared a video on X showing the detained students being taken in a bus and said, “SOS. This government has now crossed ALL limits. A group of students from Pune were on their way to Delhi to join the protest on 10th October. They were detained mid-way and are now being taken in a bus to an unknown location. Where are they being taken? Who ordered this?”

The AISF also criticized “illegal detention”. “Detention will not silence us… From October 10th!” it was said on X.

Meanwhile, GRP Itarsi Superintendent of Police Sanjay Chouksey said the students were released on Friday but remained in the hotel.

“We released them and they can go where they want. But they refused to leave,” he said.

#Watch | Around 22 female students affiliated to AISF (All India Students’ Federation), who were traveling from Pune to Delhi, were detained by the Madhya Pradesh Police at Itarsi and taken to a hotel. Video Credit: Special Arrangements https://t.co/uVCJTPzgmX

— The Hindu (@the_hindu) October 9, 2026

Published – 9 Oct 2026 19:42 IST