As the march from Andhra Bhavan Canteen towards Jantar Mantar reached Ashoka Road on Sunday, Adira (26) stood on the side of the road in silence, clutching her friend’s hand as she watched the crowd.The final-year law student, originally from Kerala and studying at Delhi University, had initially not planned to join the protest, which has been underway since October 2 demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar. However, Sunday’s march was not focused solely on alleged irregularities in the Election Commission of India. It also voiced concerns over women’s safety, coming a day after three women journalists accused Delhi Police officers of alleged sexual harassment while covering the stir near Jantar Mantar. Women’s safety in the Capital has dominated conversations since the alleged gangrape of a minor girl by three men posing as police officers at a park in Delhi last month.Against this backdrop of rising crimes against women in the Capital, Adira said she felt compelled to join the march.“I want to feel safe,” she said.“I came to Delhi in 2023, and when I was staying in a hostel, there were several restrictions. I wasn’t allowed to wear sleeveless tops in our own premises,” she said.Her parents were hesitant to send her to the Capital and have grown more worried since the news of the gangrape of the minor at a park in September.“They called and told me to discontinue the course and come back, but how can I?,” she said.Standing beside Adira was her friend Ayushi (20), also a DU student, from Champawat, Uttarakhand. For Ayushi, the fight has been long and is often ‘unfair’.Story continues below this ad“Even in 2026, we have to fight for our basic rights. Crime happens against women but eventually they are the only one that suffers…,” she said, recalling how classes at DU’s Lady Shri Ram College had moved online after the alleged gangrape last month.“Already we have very little freedom, don’t go here, don’t wear such clothes. Even after any crime happens, we’re the ones that get blamed,” she said.Another protester, Saniya Ali (18), said she had lied to her parents, who are based in Bihar, to join the protest in the Capital, telling them she was going to Delhi only for exploring.“Today I’m here because I think I need to. I stayed here because I have many questions to ask Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I want to ask him, what all is not happening here. Votes are being stolen, women are being raped, what is our country doing? Yesterday I was detained, we’re here to ask for justice. They are scared that we’re again seeking resignation. I lied because my parents will be scared if I go out and something happens, but I do not blame them completely,” she said.Story continues below this adMeanwhile, many independent journalists and other protesters, who had sat outside the Parliament Street police station till Saturday night demanding accountability, returned on Sunday morning to demand the registration of an FIR into the allegations raised by the three women journalists. The Crime Branch has now been tasked with investigating the matter, officers said on Saturday.Rishabh Ranjan, who works with the All India Congress Committee (AICC) law department and represents one of the women journalists who raised the allegation against the officers, said the police still had not registered an FIR, even though she was taken to RML hospital last night for a Medico-Legal Case (MLC).“We had gone inside with an expectation that a senior police officer at least of a rank of DCP would speak to us and share what was the reason that they transferred the case to the Crime Branch. We don’t know whether they have named the person in the complaint registered or not. We wanted them to register a zero FIR,” he said.