India youth shift tactics as police clamp down on election protest

Many have since been released. Read More:Indian capital braces for second day of protests against poll chief. They are seeking theresignationof the head of India's election commission, accusing it of manipulating voter rolls to benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling party, which the constitutional body has denied.

Meghnad S., a 36-year-old content creator, is on a mission that resembles a crowd-sourced rescue service. Armed with little more than smartphones, his group of about 170 volunteers spent the weekend tracking police vehicles. As soon as volunteers identified where detainees had been taken, information was fed into a digital dashboard matching them with volunteer drivers.

"Once we get to know where the detainees are, we have a Whats. App group where we ask if any volunteer driver is around, what car they have, if it is stocked with food, water, fuel," Meghnad toldAFP.Sometimes a doctor would join the ride.

"Once those checks are done, we try and get a doctor in our network to join the driver on the way, in case the detainees need medical assistance. "Dodging surveillance cameras. Popular student leader Neha Bora became a viral sensation after a case of mistaken identity led to police detaining her lookalike.

The real Bora, 29, managed to slip through the security cordon and make a dash towards central Delhi before eventually being detained. She later posted a photograph with her doppelganger, joking that the resemblance was "pure coincidence, not strategy".

The tale of the two Nehas. Not strategy, just coincidence. 😂😂pic.twitter.com/aBA37Obxg3— Neha (@neha_aisa)October 11, 2026It was not just Bora; police were also seen struggling to catch up with sprightly young protesters on streets. "They have big bellies, they can't run," a protester.

"They pant after running just 50 metres," she said. In other dramatic scenes, protesters were seen holding on to one another as they were dragged to waiting buses -- only for them to later wriggle out from the driver's seat or the rear window.

AFPalso met several demonstrators who wore Batman masks to avoid being identified. Bollywood actress Richa Chadha, meanwhile, offered other tips to avoid detention while filming herself drawing on her face with make-up on Sunday. Dear protestors, since you’re being filmed without your consent, try using make-up to dodge surveillance/facial recognition cameras.

Here’s a tutorial.(Draw an extra eye, a pair of lips, use colour to draw camouflage on your skin, use concealer to cover brows if need be. Get…https://t.co/eq9HF7xq. Qepic.twitter.com/3x5L5XnIZ9— Richa.

Chadha (@Richa. Chadha)October 11, 2026"Dear protesters, since you're being filmed without your consent, try using make-up to dodge surveillance/facial recognition cameras," she said on social media.