Police cracked down on a protest called by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) in Delhi on Monday (July 20, 2026). The police action on one of the largest protests in the national capital in recent years left several people injured.
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At least 38 of the injured were taken to the Lady Hardinge Medical College and around 65 to the Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, said sources., with fractures, swelling due to tear gas, and head and eye injuries.
The police swung into action amid an internet shutdown in the New Delhi district, even as CJP representatives Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka met with Union Minister J.P. Nadda to formally seek Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation.
Seeing the “brutality with which peacefully protesting youth are being dealt with”, climate activist Sonam Wangchuk said he will continue fasting “until the youth leaders are allowed to meet the parliamentarians at the Sansad Bhawan, or I am allowed to meet them here at the hospital.”
Mr. Das and Mr. Ranka said Mr. Nadda had told them he would discuss the demands with the government. However, the CJP was still waiting for a response, Mr. Das said in the evening, adding: “The protest is continuing at Jantar Mantar.”
Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi condemned the police action and wrote on X: “When these children raised legitimate questions about education — they were met with lathis and detention in response… The criminals who leaked the papers roam free…”
Waves of protest
The protests brought to the fore the growing discontent over the NEET paper leak and irregularities in the CBSE school examination process. Slogans of “Dharmendra Pradhan, isteefa do” (resign) boomed.
Earlier, CJP leaders did not begin the march to Parliament in the morning, having established contact with the government through New Delhi’s deputy commissioner of police.
Waves of youth and students arrived, even as nearby Delhi Metro stations shut the exits. Government officials and Parliament staff, who were not allowed to exit the Central Secretariat station, were seen arguing with CISF and Delhi Police personnel. Many employees of Rail Bhawan were seen cheering the protesters and making videos, while standing outside office buildings.
By early afternoon, hundreds of protesters slipped through barricades onto Sansad Marg, heading southwest to the new Parliament building. When they were a few hundred metres away from the Parliament house, security forces lathi-charged a small gathering, around which time mobile internet too was cut at 150 spots across central Delhi.
Dozens of protesters were detained, and injuries were reported among police officers, though there was no detailed statement from Delhi Police on the number of injuried and the nature of police action. CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke, who broke his fast, and Mr. Wangchuk’s wife Gitanjali J. Angmo, were briefly detained and assaulted, CJP alleged. Delhi Police denied both claims.
The crackdown spread in the hours that followed. With a communications blackout slowing the flow of images and videos from the protest site, police continued lathi-charging and lobbing teargas shells on multiple occasions in Jantar Mantar, Patel Chowk, India Gate, Connaught Place, and other parts of the area where large groups continued to protest. Police denied using disproportionate force.
Nadda meet
CJP spokespersons met Mr. Nadda at 4 p.m. The CJP demanded Mr. Pradhan’s resignation, Mr. Wangchuk’s release from the hospital, and ₹1 crore in compensation to families affected by NEET-related suicides.
Mr. Wangchuk had indicated that he was on the verge of calling off his fast if MPs met him and assured him that they would raise the issue of education in the Monsoon Session. A Delhi High Court judge had prevented Mr. Wangchuk from shifting out of the hospital. A division bench upheld that refusal on Monday (July 20), posting the matter to Tuesday (July 21).
During the police lathi charge at Jantar Mantar, the crowd ran towards the Janata Dal (United) office causing a wall to collapse. Three AISA activists on hunger strike were injured during the incident and moved out.
(With inputs from Shrimansi Kaushik, Sreeparna Chakraborty, Ashna Butani, and Sobhana K)
Published – July 20, 2026 11:16 pm IST
