Cockroach Janta Party Leaders Sent to Five Days’ Judicial Custody After Delhi Protest
NEW DELHI: Two leaders of India’s youth-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) were remanded to five days’ judicial custody on Wednesday, as police tightened their crackdown on protests against the country’s election commission.
CJP activists and opposition parties have defied a security crackdown to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, accusing the poll body of manipulating voter rolls to benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling party. The commission, which oversees voting in the world’s most populous nation, denies any wrongdoing.
Why the Cockroach Janta Party leaders were jailed
Delhi police said CJP leaders Ashutosh Ranka, 30, and Saurav Das, 27, were taken into custody over their “alleged repeated attempts to disturb public peace and violate the law”. On Tuesday, the pair jumped security barricades at Jantar Mantar to wave the national flag at the decades-old protest site, which police have now barred from use. Police added that their alleged attempts to instigate others through social media were also taken into consideration.
At the end of the five-day remand, the two could have their detention extended, be granted bail or be released.
This is the second time in days the movement’s leaders have been detained. Feature Pakistan earlier reported the October 10 crackdown on the party’s Delhi rally and the authorities’ subsequent decision to strip Jantar Mantar of its designated protest-site status after three decades. The voter-roll revision driving the protests is explained in our earlier explainer on the deletions controversy.
Rahul Gandhi backs the detained men
Parliamentary opposition leader Rahul Gandhi of the Congress party backed the men after their detention. “Waving the Tricolour at Jantar Mantar in a peaceful protest is not a crime,” he posted on social media. “Jailing youth for it is an act of cowardice.” Gandhi said on Wednesday that “all protests are one”, linking the CJP agitation to the Congress’s own campaign against the voter-roll revision. Gandhi himself has been detained at such demonstrations before, including an earlier Delhi protest against the election commission.
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke praised the pair, saying they knew they could be thrown behind bars but went ahead to wave the national flag. “They’ve shown the entire country that the only way to stand up to a bully like Modi is to never bow down, no matter the consequences,” he posted on X.
Das has worked as a journalist, while Ranka, an engineer, studied at the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology and the London School of Economics. Jantar Mantar, in the heart of the capital, has been sealed off for days with metal barricades and security personnel. Human Rights Watch has urged India to uphold the right to peaceful protest.
Frequently asked questions
Who are the jailed Cockroach Janta Party leaders?
Ashutosh Ranka, 30, an engineer who studied at IIT and the London School of Economics, and Saurav Das, 27, a former journalist. Both were remanded to five days’ judicial custody on Wednesday.
What are the protests about?
The CJP and opposition parties accuse the Election Commission of India of manipulating voter rolls to benefit the ruling BJP, and demand Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation. The commission denies wrongdoing.
What happened at Jantar Mantar?
Ranka and Das jumped security barricades on Tuesday to wave the national flag at the protest site, which Delhi police removed from the list of designated protest venues on Monday.
Tags: Cockroach Janta Party, Jantar Mantar, Rahul Gandhi, voter rolls, India protests, Ashutosh Ranka
