Hijabi Muslim woman arrested in India over election protest

• Opposition activists and youth groups rallied demanding CEC Gyanesh Kumar's resignation over mass voter-roll deletions.
• India's Supreme Court set Monday hearings on voter-list revision petitions following criticism from Justice Ujjal Bhuyan.
• Satirical group Cockroach Janta Party led key protests, threatening national action if the CEC remains.
• Security crackdowns at Jantar Mantar resulted in sexual harassment complaints filed by female journalists against Delhi officers.

Opposition activists and youth movements across India staged a third consecutive day of street demonstrations on Sunday, calling for the immediate resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over allegations of widespread electoral roll manipulation.

The wave of demonstrations -which began on Friday- centers on a large-scale revision of voter lists managed by the Election Commission of India (ECI) that resulted in the removal of millions of registered voters.

While the ECI has formally rejected all allegations of misconduct, Kumar has refrained from making public comments regarding the demand for his resignation.

The demonstrations occurred on the eve of a scheduled Monday hearing by the Supreme Court of India, which is set to evaluate multiple petitions challenging the key voter-list decisions.

Cockroach Janta Party joins protests 

In Mumbai, thousands of marchers carrying national flags and anti-Kumar placards filled the streets to demand transparency in the electoral process.

Demonstrators prominently included supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), a satirical movement founded online in May that gained national prominence after successfully leading a campaign that forced the resignation of the country's education minister.

"Mumbai is out on the streets again for free and fair elections!" CJP chief Abhijeet Dipke wrote in a social media statement on Sunday.

In New Delhi, authorities deployed heavy police contingents around the India Gate monument, erecting barricades to block advancing crowds.

Delhi police face sexual harassment enquiry

Outside a police station in the capital, dozens of activists gathered after female journalists accused law enforcement officers of misconduct during protests on Saturday.

The incident occurred after police detained scores of demonstrators around the designated protest site at Jantar Mantar.

"Allegations of sexual harassment were made by three female journalists against police officers," Delhi police confirmed in an official statement, promising "a fair and impartial enquiry."

CJP chief Abhijeet Dipke demanded that the officer accused in the complaints "must be arrested immediately."

The Press Club of India issued a statement expressing that it was "shocked and dismayed" by the police treatment of media personnel, stressing that journalists "must be allowed to work freely, without fear."

Judicial criticism 

Opposition leaders have accused the ECI of operating under political influence from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Opposition parties announced plans to march directly to the Election Commission headquarters in New Delhi on Tuesday, followed by "Save Democracy" rallies across the country.

Concurrently, the CJP issued a call for a "massive mobilisation of young Indians" in New Delhi set for October 10.

Ahead of the Supreme Court session, Supreme Court Judge Ujjal Bhuyan publicly criticized the voter-roll deletions during an address at a university.

"If any process results in disenfranchising millions and millions of Indian citizens making them second class citizens in their own country in the sense of being citizens without voting rights, such a process is intrinsically arbitrary," Judge Bhuyan stated.