A security lockdown aimed at protesters has affected daily commuters as the agitation on 10 October stretched into a fourth day of disruption in New Delhi.

Police and paramilitary forces locked down much of the north city around 57 metro stations and 240 trains to New Delhi and Nizamuddin stations were cancelled.

Mobile internet was suspended in the central business district, and checkpoints were set up on major roads and entry points in the city.

“My office is in North Delhi near the parliament, and if I even mistakenly enter that restricted area, police will rush forward to beat and detain me”, Abhay, a corporate employee, told The Public Brief.

I don’t know much, but the right to protest is constitutional, and the Supreme Court should handle this case, he added.

Delhi police sources put the number held at nearly 2,500, while a home ministry official said about 2,000.

The internet cut made it harder to track those detained, as a protester said it was “so difficult to verify who has been taken where.”

“The problem is the system, as the process for selecting the Chief Election Commissioner is faulty and needs to be changed,” Ayush Singh, a protester, told a reporter.

On Monday, Oct. 12, authorities closed six metro stations and warned of traffic disruptions ahead of an opposition march to the Supreme Court.

Opposition lawmakers and thousands of supporters marched and submitted a petition to the chief justice alleging irregularities in the nationwide voter-list revision.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi told reporters, “We will not back down.”

Police also announced Monday that Jantar Mantar, a longtime venue for mass rallies, would no longer be a designated protest site, and named three replacement sites, including Ramlila Ground, Burari Ground and CBD Ground.

That change may matter most for the long-term cost of the restrictions, since it removes the city’s best-known place for lawful protest.

The upfront amount for booking Ramlila Maidan as an event venue is Rs 1.21 lakh per day, including a rent charge of Rs 50,000, a security deposit of Rs 55,000, and taxes.

Cockroach Janata Party Spokesperson Saurav Das, along with co-founder Ashutosh Ranka and 14 others, were detained for illegally sneaking into the Jantar Mantar protest site on October 14.

The Supreme Court hearing could test whether the restrictions were proportionate, the same question residents and protesters are asking.