Inside Daulatpur Detention Centre: A Photo Essay

On Saturday, 10th October, thousands took to the streets to participate in a protest led by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP). Protestors demanding the resignation of the Chief Election Commissioner, Mr. Gyanesh Kumar, were forcefully escorted in police vehicles to detention centres. This photo essay by Atharva Salve (UG'27) documents the day of protest as it unfolded.

During my detention on the 10th of October in light of the protests demanding CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation, called by the CJP and major student organisations, I was kept in a police van with my friends from 10 AM to 2 PM, and then taken to the Daulatpur Community Centre. 

Our van was the first group to reach there; our phones were taken, and we were given food.

Individuals detained in different parts of Delhi, especially in Connaught Place, were brought in at different times to Daulatpur Community Centre, which functioned as a detention centre with heavy police and military personnel presence. 

Initially, everyone's phones were taken upon arrival, and names were maintained on a register. 

Detainees waited against the detention centre railings at the Daulatpur Community Centre

3-4 more vans of detained protesters came in, with the detainees sloganeering right from the vans. 

As people started talking to each other and realised that being cut off from the rest of the world was quite a difficult state to be in, people started demanding that the police return their phones. After much sloganeering and conversation, the demands were successful, and the phones were returned. 

My phone still has the police sticker pasted on it from when it was confiscated.

Detained protesters gathered outside the gate moments before forcing it open to sloganeer against Delhi Police.

Protesters sloganeered for the CEC’s resignation and against Delhi Police while in detention. Cries of "Inquilaab Zindabaad", "Vote Chor, Gaddi Chhod" and "Modi jab jab darta hai, police ko aage karta hai" echoed.

As people grew impatient in detention, the sloganeering continued till 6 PM.

Detainees filled the buses to go home and peek outside.

After 6 PM, people got out in anticipation, waiting for the gates to open so they could find their way out of this detention centre in the middle of nowhere. 

A crowd of detained people and protesters gathered outside the detention centre in impatience.

Two men pose with a B.R. Ambedkar portrait and the Constitution of India as they wait to be freed.

The detention centre became a small protest site of its own, with people asking police questions about women's safety and expressing concerns over the detention of minors at the very place we were at. I spoke to 3 minors, attempting to get them released early through the contact of a lawyer; this was, however, unsuccessful, and the minor detainees only got out with the rest of the crowd. 

About to be freed, detainees distributed biscuits to the crowds given by the authorities.

Military personnel and Police guarded the main gate as detainees pushed for opening them. Finally, at 6:30 P.M., the gates were opened by a surge of people moving forward, freeing everyone.

The agitated crowd pushed through the almost-open gates of the detention centre and started walking out towards buses and other roads, freed (in some senses?) and sloganeering. Many detainees walked to a better road from this village in the middle of nowhere; some chose buses, and others drove with lawyers and well-wishers.

All Images by Atharva Salve.

[Edited by Antara Kulkarni and Ananya Mahnot.]