New Delhi, Oct. 11 -- Top CJP leaders on Sunday vowed to expand their protests nationwide on the SIR issue after they were released from preventive custody though 100 more people were detained as police maintained the security chokehold on the Capital.
In a special sitting, the Supreme Court directed that people gathering peacefully should not be illegally detained and asked authorities to ensure that Delhi Metro functions normally, and that there is no disruption to internet services, subject to law and order conditions.
Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders Abhijeet Dipke, Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das, who were set free on a condition that they would not "breach peace" for a year, claimed that their detention was illegal and their protest would continue till Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar resigns.
"We are not dreaded criminals; we are not going to Narendra Modi or Amit Shah's house to protest. Protest at designated protest spot is not disturbing peace," Ranka said at a press conference later.
Ranka said the protest will not stop till Gyanesh Kumar resigns.
CJP and Opposition leaders were among 7,000 protesters detained at multiple locations on Saturday as authorities thwarted their attempt to reach Jantar Mantar for a planned demonstration against CEC Kumar with an unprecedented security clampdown in Delhi. All these detainees have been released.
An apex court bench of Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana issued a notice to the Centre while hearing a plea seeking contempt proceedings for alleged violation of the court's direction to ensure that there is no "complete prohibition" on metro and train services in Delhi due to the CJP protest.
The bench asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to ensure that Delhi Metro functions as
per its normal schedule, and that there is no disruption to internet services, subject to law and order conditions. The apex court also asked Mehta to ensure that lawyers, journalists and others shall not be impeded in discharging their professional duties.
CJP's Saurav Das alleged that the Modi government has created an "emergency-like situation" and turned the state against its own citizens.
Ranka alleged that he, Das and Abhijeet Dipke had been "kidnapped" from an aircraft.
Das said the police had illegally detained them without any formal notice and alleged that their phones were seized and they were not allowed to contact a lawyer.
Ranka and Das claimed that their mobile phones may have been hacked or cloned during their 24-hour detention by the Delhi Police.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.