Delhi Police detain 2,000, including 4 ex-CMs

At least 2,000 people were detained across Delhi on Saturday as massive police action countered the Cockroach Janta Party's (CJP) call to gather at Jantar Mantar in the Indian capital to demand the resignation of the country's election chief over alleged irregularities in the poll process.

Those detained included four former chief ministers: AAP's Arvind Kejriwal, Trinamool Congress founder Mamata Banerjee, and the Left's Pinarayi Vijayan and Manik Sarkar.

CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke and leaders Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das were detained from the plane as soon as they landed in Delhi. 

Dipke remained in police custody while his paternal grandmother passed away in his hometown in Maharashtra; police said he was told he could leave for the funeral, but by the evening it was not clear if he was to be released.

The detainees were held at multiple locations across the national capital as they tried to join the protest, amid heavy police and paramilitary deployment, barricades and restrictions on movement.

Student organisation All India Students' Association (AISA), led by Neha Bora, sought to hold a dharna near Dilli Haat, about 10 km from Jantar Mantar, but those gathered there were pushed into vans by police wielding batons.

Police sources later said women and senior citizens were being released first, but the massive deployment would continue on Sunday as there could be renewed attempts to protest. The Congress-led INDIA bloc has also called for a protest on Monday.