Delhi’s Special Executive Magistrate Court ordered five days of judicial custody for Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, senior figures of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), after they were arrested for entering a restricted protest zone at Jantar Mantar on Tuesday. The two activists, part of a larger group that scaled a locked gate and crossed police barricades, were taken before a magistrate on Wednesday and remanded while their fellow activist, Ajinkya Shinde, was released on personal bond.
Arrests and Judicial Custody
在 a 2023‑2024 context, Jantar Mantar has been a historic site for demonstrations, but police recently removed it from the list of authorized protest locations. The CJP members,包括 Das and Ranka, were among those who defied the new restrictions, climbing over barriers and carrying Indian flags while chanting slogans. Police charged the trio with trespassing, breaching a peace bond, violating prohibitory orders and obstructing public officials. The two leaders denied all allegations, and their legal team asserted that they were denied access to counsel for several hours before being transferred to a police station in a private vehicle around 03:00 local time.
Political Reactions and Statements
Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi, who has been conducting separate protests against the Election Commission, condemned the arrests as “an act of cowardice.” In a post on X, Gandhi expressed solidarity with students, youth, journalists and the broader “INDIA bloc,” emphasizing that all protests share a common goal of defending constitutional rights. CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke, who arrived in Delhi after the arrests, accused the government of stifling dissent and challenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to formally declare an Emergency, drawing a parallel to the 1970s period when civil liberties were suspended under then‑Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
Dipke’s comments, shared on social media, were accompanied by video footage showing Das and Ranka scaling police barricades, brandishing the national flag and chanting. He wrote, “You cannot denotify the resistance,” underscoring the movement’s determination to continue protests despite the new limitations.
Police Restrictions and Protest Environment
In the days leading up to the arrests, Delhi police imposed extensive security measures, shutting down several metro stations and deploying thousands of officers and paramilitary forces to prevent demonstrators from reaching Jantar Mantar. Reports indicated that thousands of participants,包括 journalists, were detained and later released, with some视频 showing警察 forcibly dragging protesters onto buses。 Following the weekend的 demonstrations, authorities officially removed Jantar Mantar from the roster of approved protest venues, instead designating Ramlila Maidan, Burari Ground and CBD Ground as the only permitted sites. The CJP criticized this move, warning that it would diminish the visibility of protests and make it harder for citizens to be heard.
Despite the restrictions, the activists returned to Jantar Mantar on Tuesday, climbing over the police‑set barricades. Ratna Singh, the head of the CJP’s legal team, rejected the police claim that the group had publicly called others to join the demonstration, labeling it “absolutely false.”
Background of the Cockroach Janta Party
The CJP originated from student‑led protests earlier in the year, initially focusing on exam irregularities and broader education reforms. Those protests contributed to the resignation of the federal Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The movement later adopted a satirical moniker after India’s Chief Justice Surya Kant likened unemployed youth to “cockroaches” during a court hearing in May. Although the Chief Justice later clarified that his remarks were misinterpreted, the term resonated with young people demanding systemic change.
Transitioning from an online satire group to a pressure organization, the CJP expanded its agenda to include unemployment, education policy and governmental accountability. In early October, the group launched a nationwide protest in Mumbai after an Indian Express report alleged that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar had ignored objections from two fellow commissioners regarding changes to voter registration. The report claimed that commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised concerns at least 14 times over ten months about decisions made without their knowledge, including alterations to voter databases and electoral rolls. The Election Commission has denied any wrongdoing, stating that its decisions were unanimous.
The controversy surrounding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has intensified scrutiny of the voter verification process, which opposition parties allege benefits Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party. Both the Election Commission and the government have rejected these allegations.
While the CJP has not formally aligned its protests with opposition parties, its actions have coincided with demonstrations led by figures such as Rahul Gandhi, who himself has been detained during protests in multiple cities. The convergence of these movements underscores a broader climate of dissent concerning electoral transparency and democratic rights in India.
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