At least two new FIRs have been filed against Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra following the INDIA bloc protest that took place on 7 October 2026 in central Delhi. The demonstrations were aimed at opposing the revision of electoral rolls and calling for the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, according to Delhi Police sources. The charges relate to allegations that the protestors assaulted and obstructed police personnel and damaged a police vehicle.
A police constable, Ankit Kasana of the Parliament Police, reported that he was surrounded by a group of 30 to 35 protesters while attempting to manage the crowd during Rahul Gandhi’s detention. Kasana said the protestors abused him, tore his uniform and attacked him with fingernails and teeth, and he was subsequently taken to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital for examination. Police also allege that protesters smashed the windows of a police vehicle and that Congress workers punctured the tyre of a bus carrying detained protestors.
These fresh cases are separate from earlier FIRs filed after the 6 October protest, which included accusations of forcible entry into Akashvani Bhavan. On 7 October, Gandhi, Vadra and around 80 other leaders were detained by the New Delhi Police after protesters gathered at Jantar Mantar. The police pushed the crowd into buses, one of which had its tyre punctured by Congress workers; videos of the incident went viral. Other detained leaders included K.C. Venugopal, Pawan Khera, A.A. Rahim and Sivadasan.
A senior police official warned of a growing pattern of competition among protest groups, noting that demonstrations are increasingly being staged in a more dramatic manner and at times involving damage to public property. Police have reinforced security across central Delhi in anticipation of another INDIA bloc protest scheduled for 8 October, with barricades erected and additional personnel deployed. Violators of the law during the upcoming demonstration will be detained and cases registered, amid ongoing traffic restrictions and heightened police presence in the capital.
