In brief
Leaders of India’s satirical Cockroach Janta Party were detained early Tuesday after breaching the heavily‑guarded Jantar Mantar protest site in Delhi. The group, which demands the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged electoral roll rollbacks favouring the ruling party, has mobilised with slogans and flag‑bearing marches. While police removed key figures such as Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das, the CJP continued to livestream their detention, displaying defiant resolve. Delhi authorities intensified security after the federal home ministry de‑notified Jantar Mantar as a protest venue, citing broader restrictions on public demonstrations. The incident follows a wave of student and opposition protests over election reforms and institutional accountability.
Leaders of India's Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) were detained early on Tuesday after they entered a heavily‑guarded protest site and chanted slogans demanding the country's election chief resign over a controversial revision of electoral rolls.
Party founder Abhijeet Dipke shared a video showing Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das being taken away by police from Jantar Mantar, a historic Delhi observatory popular for protests.
Footage showed the two – along with others – climbing over police barricades before chanting slogans while holding the Indian flag.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's opponents allege the voter list revision benefits his party, a charge it and the Election Commission reject.
There have been days of protests demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation.
Police have stepped up security across Delhi as demonstrators challenge restrictions on where protests can be held.
Early on Tuesday, Dipke, Das and Ranka all shared videos showing Das and Ranka entering Jantar Mantar.
Ranka later appeared on an Instagram live broadcast from a police bus alongside other detainees where they appeared cheerful and said they would not back down.
The detentions came a day after the federal home ministry announced that Jantar Mantar would no longer be a designated protest venue, identifying three alternative locations.
Before the decision, the CJP had met Delhi Police officials to seek permission for a peaceful protest at Jantar Mantar and had warned that it would announce further demonstrations if it received no response.
The current protests follow student‑led demonstrations earlier this year over exam irregularities and demands for education reforms.
The CJP had evolved from online satire after the Chief Justice compared young people to cockroaches, becoming a pressure group tapping into widespread anger over unemployment, exam irregularities and government accountability.
