Indian police detain 'cockroach' movement founder Dipke ahead of protest

Indian police arrested Abhijeet Dipke, the founder of the 'cockroach' movement, on Friday before a protest in Delhi's central business district. Dipke, who leads the youth-led Cockroach Janta Party, had called for the resignation of India's Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar, over a recent voter list revision. Over 130 million voters were removed from the list, a move that critics claim favors Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party.

The election commission denied any bias while stating that wrongly deleted voters can re-enroll. Dipke's protest aimed to support two of his party leaders who were detained and jailed for five days for demonstrating without a permit. Police detained Dipke after a brief argument at Central Park, where supporters gathered to wave the national flag.

The park was closed earlier due to concerns about public order and safety. Dipke accused the authorities of detaining him for not breaking any laws. The BJP accused opposition groups of attempting to undermine democracy by questioning the legitimacy of electoral processes.