New Delhi, Oct. 13 -- Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, along with around nine other members, were detained by Delhi Police early Tuesday after they allegedly breached barricades at Jantar Mantar, raised slogans demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation and entered the area despite prohibitory orders. The activists carried the national flag and described their action as an attempt to reclaim the recently denotified protest site. Police subsequently registered an FIR against Das, Ranka and other CJP members for allegedly entering the area without authorisation, with the case also covering the alleged breach of a peace bond signed by the two leaders after their earlier detention.
Videos shared by CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke showed activists running towards the heavily barricaded site, scaling a gate and raising slogans, including "Bharat Mata ki Jai" and "Inquilab Zindabad". They also recited the revolutionary poem "Sarfaroshi ki Tamanna" while demanding Kumar's resignation.
A senior police officer said the detained protesters were taken to Jaffarpur Kalan Police Station in Dwarka district. Security was strengthened around the station after other CJP workers gathered there. Dipke later alleged that the detained leaders were being denied access to their lawyers, questioning the police action.
"Fortress Jantar Mantar has been reclaimed," the CJP said in a statement, asserting that the denotification of the site would not stop its agitation. Ranka also vowed to continue the campaign, saying, "Jantar Mantar has been breached. The resignation of Gyanesh Kumar will happen at Jantar Mantar."
The detentions came days after Dipke, Das and Ranka were held on Saturday following their arrival in Delhi, as police thwarted the organisation's planned protest seeking Kumar's resignation.
They were released the following day on the condition that they would not breach peace for a year. The dispute follows a standing order issued by Delhi Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar on October 11, designating Ramlila Maidan, Burari Ground and CBD Ground as venues for protests and demonstrations. Jantar Mantar was subsequently removed from the list of designated protest sites.
CJP said the denotification was announced on October 12, the same day its representatives approached Parliament Street Police Station to seek a date and time for a peaceful demonstration. The organisation questioned the timing of the decision, arguing that authorities could not ask citizens to seek permission and then change the rules while an application was being pursued.
CJP policy lead and national spokesperson Mehr Pasricha said shifting demonstrations away from the political centre of the capital would reduce their visibility. The youth-led organisation also cited constitutional protections for freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.
The latest action comes amid heightened security in New Delhi following calls by several organisations for protests against Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.