India detains top 'Cockroach' leaders after flash protest

Leaders of India's Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) were apprehended on Tuesday after breaching a heavily guarded protest location and voicing demands for the country's election chief to step down in protest of a contentious modification to electoral rolls. Party founder Abhijeet Dipke shared footage depicting Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das being seized by police from Jantar Mantar, a historic Delhi observatory synonymous with protests.

The video showcased the two - along with other activists - scaling over police barricades and chanting slogans while holding the Indian flag. Critics of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government allege the electorate list revision favors his party, a claim the party and the Election Commission have vehemently denied. Demonstrations have been ongoing for days, with protesters rallying against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's removal.

Police have escalated security measures across Delhi as activists challenge limitations on permissible protest locations. Early Tuesday, Dipke, Das, and Ranka posted videos showcasing their entry into Jantar Mantar. Dipke declared on X, "You cannot denotify the resistance." Das posted a message proclaiming the site had been "reclaimed" and they were being detained.

The fate of the leaders was unclear as police had not disclosed their whereabouts. Ranka later appeared on an Instagram live session from a police vehicle accompanied by other detainees, appearing jovial and asserting they would not yield. The detentions transpired a day after the federal home ministry declared Jantar Mantar, historically a hub for public protests in Delhi, no longer a designated protest zone.

Authorities have identified three alternative venues where demonstrations can take place upon permission. Prior to the decision, the CJP had liaised with Delhi Police officials to seek authorization for a peaceful protest at Jantar Mantar and had warned of further demonstrations should their request be ignored. Within minutes of informing the Delhi Police about seeking a date for Jantar Mantar, the site was de-notified as a protest ground, as Ranka had earlier tweeted on X. The majority of the CJP's leadership has been present in Delhi recently.

However, Dipke had journeyed to his hometown in Maharashtra following his grandmother's demise. He was among several CJP leaders detained ahead of a scheduled demonstration on Saturday and was released the following day. The CJP had called for a protest at Jantar Mantar on Saturday, but authorities imposed stringent security measures across the capital to hinder demonstrators from reaching the site.

Thousands of police and paramilitary personnel were deployed, several metro stations were closed, train services were disrupted, and thousands of individuals were detained and subsequently released, including numerous journalists. Footage from the protest reveals police forcefully dragging individuals, including women, and herding them into buses.

Separately, opposition parties organized a march in Delhi on Monday from Connaught Place, a prominent shopping district in the heart of the capital, to the Supreme Court. The Congress, India's principal opposition party, also petitioned the Supreme Court on Monday, contesting the Election Commission's voter revision endeavor, resulting in the removal of tens of millions of names from electoral rolls.

Critics argue the exercise could exclude eligible voters, complicating their proof of eligibility. Anger over the revision intensified after The Indian Express reported that Kumar disregarded warnings from the other two election commissioners regarding amendments to voter registration. The Election Commission has maintained that its decisions were unanimous.

The current protests follow student-led demonstrations earlier this year over examination irregularities and calls for educational reforms. The CJP had organized weeks of action that culminated in the dismissal of federal Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Initially emerging as an online satirical movement after India's Chief Justice Surya Kant likened some unemployed young people to cockroaches during a court hearing in May, the CJP evolved into a pressure group, harnessing broader discontent over unemployment, examination irregularities, and government accountability.