Overview
- Organisers said on Saturday that Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had resigned and that the Cockroach Janta Party would call off the Jantar Mantar sit-in, prompting jubilant scenes at the protest site.
- The confrontation that forced negotiations began with a large ‘Sansad Chalo’ march that on July 20 turned violent when police used lathi-charge and tear gas and scores of officers and protesters were hurt.
- Delhi Police have deployed facial-recognition cameras at entry and exit points of Jantar Mantar and say their analysis has flagged more than 2,000 people with prior criminal records, a claim challenged by organisers and civil-rights groups.
- Multiple FIRs have been registered across several police stations invoking provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Arms Act and public-property laws, with at least one complaint adding attempted-murder charges and police reporting many injured.
- Pressure for accountability is likely to grow: former senior bureaucrats and lawyers are demanding an independent judicial inquiry, a PIL over mass surveillance is due in the Delhi High Court on July 27, and protesters say access to food, water and legal help was impeded during the standoff.