Delhi Police Detain Cockroach Janta Party Leaders Over Protests

Delhi Police detained Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), along with co-convener Saurav Das and spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka, aboard an Air India flight arriving from Mumbai on Saturday. The detentions occurred at Indira Gandhi International Airport before the leaders could disembark, causing delays for other passengers.

The CJP organized the Jantar Mantar 2.0 agitation to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, whom the party accuses of masterminding voter-list manipulation during the Special Intensive Revision of the electoral roll. Following the arrests, Dipke appointed Ajinkya Shinde, a former computer engineer and Aam Aadmi Party youth leader, to lead the movement via a pre-recorded video.

Police action extended to the national capital, where nearly 500 protesters and YouTuber Dhruv Rathee were detained. While the CJP claims over 15,000 people faced police action, Reuters reports more than 2,000 detentions. Shinde accused the government of suppressing the movement by closing Metro stations and restricting public transport. The Election Commission and BJP have denied all allegations of electoral wrongdoing. Shinde has called for further demonstrations at Jantar Mantar on Sunday.