NEW DELHI (AP) — Authorities stepped up security in the Indian capital on Friday and announced transport restrictions ahead of a planned demonstration by India’s “Cockroach” movement, seeking to limit access to a growing campaign against a contentious revision of voter lists that has led to nationwide protests.
Thousands of protesters are expected to gather at New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar protest venue Saturday as the movement against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government and the country’s election authorities intensifies. The protesters, joined by opposition parties, are demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, accusing the poll body he heads of manipulating voter lists through the revision.
Indian Railways said it canceled several trains serving two New Delhi stations for Saturday, while the Delhi Metro announced the closure of 57 stations. The restrictions could hinder access to the protest site for supporters of the “Cockroach” movement, many of them students who have relied on trains and the metro to reach demonstrations.
India’s Supreme Court directed authorities to reconsider the restrictions and ensure public transport services were not entirely suspended.
Local media reported that at least 23,000 police personnel had been deployed across the capital ahead of the protest. Police say the measures are intended to maintain law and order and prevent disruptions to public movement.
The protests center on a nationwide review of voter lists known as the Special Intensive Revision, which has been carried out in most of India’s states and federally administered territories. More than 130 million names have been removed so far. Millions of people have appealed the deletions.
Those whose names have been removed can appeal, but critics say the process can be difficult, particularly for people who lack older government records or other required documents.
Opposition parties say the removals have disproportionately affected their supporters and people from minority groups, while voters more likely to support Modi’s Hindu nationalist ruling Bharatiya Janata Party have been retained or added to the lists. The Election Commission and the government reject the allegations, saying the exercise lacks any political motive and is intended to remove duplicate and ineligible entries.
The demonstrations have been led in part by the “Cockroach” movement, which began as an online youth campaign in May before expanding into street protests. Its earlier demonstrations, sit-ins and hunger strikes over exam paper leaks forced Modi’s education minister to resign in July.
Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi has also emerged as a prominent figure in the campaign. Police briefly detained him twice during protests in New Delhi this week.
Ahead of the protest, student groups and activists accused police of detaining some protesters traveling to the capital. Local media reported that officers had also visited some mosques in the capital and urged religious leaders to discourage people from attending the demonstration.
Abhijeet Dipke, the “Cockroach” movement’s leader, said Friday that protesters would proceed despite detentions and restrictions.
“This intimidation is not going to work, Modi,” Dipke said in a post on X. “The youth of this country are no longer scared of you.”
A motorcyclist drives past security personnel guarding as members of the student wing of India's Congress party and other protesters march demanding the resignation of the country's election chief Gyanesh Kumar, in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Security personnel keep vigil from the rooftop of a building as members of the student wing of India's Congress party and other protesters gather to start a march demanding the resignation of the country's election chief Gyanesh Kumar, in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
BEIRUT (AP) — An airline pilot was among three Saudi citizens killed in attacks targeting Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport and a Saudia aircraft, the kingdom’s civil aviation authority said on Friday. Several people “of different nationalities” were wounded.
The attacks on Thursday were the deadliest in Saudi Arabia since the kingdom and allied forces in neighboring Yemen launched a major military offensive against Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels last weekend.
They also marked a significant escalation on the latest front in the Iran war, which has kept oil prices and financial markets volatile. U.N. Special Envoy Hans Grundberg was scheduled to brief the Security Council on developments in Yemen later on Friday.
Hundreds of flights to and from Riyadh were canceled on Thursday, according to flight-tracking site FlightAware.
The Indian Embassy later said Air India had suspended operations through to Saturday, while the Lufthansa Group said its airlines would suspend flights to Riyadh through to Oct. 16. Pakistan International Airlines has also suspended flights to Riyadh because of the evolving situation in the Middle East, an airline spokesman said.
The U.S. Embassy warned citizens on Wednesday of potential airspace closures.
The first attack on Thursday targeted airport facilities, while the second struck the aircraft, the Saudi statement said. It did not identify those responsible, though the Houthis claimed to have targeted the airport with a ballistic missile.
Among the dead was Capt. Hamoud Ali Alkalthami, the Saudia Group said in a statement. It appeared to be the first confirmed attack on the Saudi national carrier since the new offensive began. A separate Saudia Group statement said one of its aircraft was damaged while it was on the ground, with no passengers on board.
The aviation statement also said the injuries to citizens and people of other nationalities “ranged from minor to serious.” The Saudia Group statement later said operational activities at the airport had returned to normal.
Meanwhile, the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis said it had destroyed three rocket launch platforms used by the rebels to threaten regional security.
The airport in the Saudi capital has come under repeated attack in recent days. This week, the Houthis warned global airlines “for the last time” about the potential consequences of operating in Saudi airspace, which they described as a theater for their military operations.
On Wednesday, Saudi officials said Houthi-claimed attacks on airports in Riyadh and Abha had killed three people.
Saudi Arabia faces mounting attacks from the Houthis, who declared a blockade of the kingdom earlier this year in response to one imposed on them.
The kingdom has sought support from allies, including the United States. Officials said U.S. assistance has included intelligence sharing, target identification and planning for the latest offensive.
But President Donald Trump has shown reluctance to expand U.S. military involvement in the Middle East and, for now, has not ordered American forces to resume strikes against the rebels.
The U.S. last year carried out a nearly two-month air strike campaign against the Houthis in an effort to open international shipping lanes in the Red Sea.
The Houthis had disrupted the waterway for months with their own attacks in response to Israel mounting a blockade on the Gaza Strip. Trump halted strikes after the U.S. military burned through hundreds of millions of dollars in munitions.
The new Saudi-led offensive aims to retake territory the Houthis seized a month ago along Yemen’s western Red Sea coast and the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Their presence there threatens a crucial alternative shipping route to the Strait of Hormuz, where Iranian attacks on ships have curtailed traffic.
Anna reported from Jerusalem.
FILE - Lufthansa aircraft are parked at an airpor in Munich, Germany, April 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, File)
