Pune Student and Youth Organisations Protest Against Police Action on Anti-SIR Demonstrators
Reported by Shoaib Tadvi
Pune, 16th October 2026: Various student and youth organisations staged a protest outside the Pune Collector’s Office on Friday, raising concerns over police action against demonstrators opposing the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The protest was organised by the Lokshahi Adhikar Sangharsh Samiti, a collective of organisations demanding the protection of democratic rights and greater transparency in the electoral process.
Organisations including NBS, Disha, AISF, SFI, Satyashodhak, NSYF and RRR participated in the demonstration. The protesters raised concerns about the detention of demonstrators, the registration of cases against protest participants and restrictions on peaceful assemblies in different parts of the country.
Speaking at the protest, Vedant of the Disha Students’ Organisation said the right to vote and the right to peaceful assembly were fundamental democratic rights. Referring to previous anti-SIR demonstrations organised by the Samiti, he alleged that protesters had been detained and denied the opportunity to assemble peacefully. He also expressed concern over police action against students, youth, women and journalists.
Susmit of Naujawan Bharat Sabha outlined the demands raised by the protesters, including scrapping the SIR process, restoring previous electoral rolls and conducting fresh elections in states where, according to the organisers, elections were held using allegedly fraudulent electoral rolls.
The protesters also demanded action against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, greater transparency in the functioning of the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the publication of election-related software under open-source licences. They further called for action against police officers accused of physical or sexual assault and sought the restoration of Jantar Mantar as a designated protest site without restrictions on peaceful demonstrations.
T Lalita, representing the Bhagat Singh Jan Adhikar Yatra (BSJAY), also addressed the gathering and raised concerns about the implementation of the SIR process. She alleged that the process could disproportionately affect migrant workers, women, Dalits, Muslims and other vulnerable sections of society.
Lalita further alleged that Form 7, which is used to object to the inclusion of names in electoral rolls or seek their deletion, was being misused to target certain groups of voters. She also expressed concern over alleged threats to withdraw ration cards and other government benefits from people whose names were excluded during the revision process.
The demonstration focused on the protesters’ demands concerning electoral roll revision, police accountability and the right to peaceful assembly. The allegations against the police, government and election authorities were raised by the organisers during the protest.
At the conclusion of the demonstration, the Lokshahi Adhikar Sangharsh Samiti announced that it would continue its agitation in Pune until its demands were addressed.
