Ahmedabad Police Detain Over 29,000 in 9 Months: One Action Every 13.5 Minutes Amid Rising Protests

City police placed 29,201 individuals in preventive custody between January 1 and September 30, 2026, averaging roughly 107 detentions per day—or one every 13.5 minutes—driven primarily by recurring public agitations and targeted crime-prevention drives across the urban corridor.

Official records indicate that law enforcement focused heavily on maintaining public order during a series of high-profile demonstrations, including protests over price rises, central government policies, the NEET paper leak controversy, student rallies, and civic election activities. Senior police officers confirmed that pre-emptive actions under administrative provisions were deployed to prevent large mobilisations from escalating into breaches of peace.

Breakdown Across Legal Provisions

Police records show that the bulk of preventive detentions fell under three key provisions:

• Section 107 CrPC (Breach of Peace): 26,098 individuals were required to execute legal bonds undertaking to maintain peace during public gatherings and demonstrations.
• Section 110 CrPC (Habitual Offenders): 3,049 individuals with past records of theft, robbery, or cheating were taken into custody during targeted city-wide prevention drives.
• Section 109 CrPC (Concealing Presence): 54 individuals were detained on suspicion of hiding their presence to commit an offence.

Continued Logging Under Legacy Code

Although the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) replaced the Code of Criminal Procedure in July 2024, department records continue to categorise these preventive actions under legacy CrPC nomenclature.

Senior officers maintained that the measures remain administrative rather than punitive, designed strictly to mitigate public safety risks and ensure uninterrupted civic life during urban mobilisations.