Hundreds of protesters were detained in Delhi during a demonstration organized by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), a group led by young activists advocating for electoral reforms. The group's founder, Abhijeet Dipke, was detained along with other leaders shortly after arriving in Delhi. The CJP began its movement in May following comments from India's Chief Justice, who compared some unemployed youth to 'cockroaches.'
In preparation for the protest, tens of thousands of security personnel were deployed, and roads were barricaded. The Delhi Police did not comment on the detentions but had previously denied permission for the protest to occur at Jantar Mantar, a significant site in the city. The CJP is not registered as a political party and is pushing for electoral reforms ahead of upcoming state elections. They have also called for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, alleging manipulation of voter lists, a claim the Election Commission has denied.
Under Kumar's leadership, the Election Commission has been updating electoral rolls across India, which has faced criticism in several states due to allegations of wrongful removals. The CJP and opposition parties accuse Kumar of bias towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a claim that both the Election Commission and the BJP have rejected.
Before arriving in Delhi, Dipke stated, 'If you think you can stop us by threatening us with jail or trying to intimidate us with the fear of imprisonment, you are mistaken.' He, along with leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, was detained upon their flight from Mumbai. The group reported that the detained leaders were taken to an undisclosed location.
Ajinkya Shinde, the CJP's designated leader during the detentions, urged protesters to continue their efforts regardless of police interference. Student activist Neha Bora, also detained, encouraged demonstrators to persist. Due to heavy police presence, many protesters were unable to reach Jantar Mantar.
One protester, Sabika Muzaffar, shared her experience, stating she and her mother were preparing for potential detention. She expressed that participating in the protest was her way of defending democracy. Shortly after her interview, she was taken away by police.
In addition to the detentions, several trains and metro stations in Delhi were closed, and buses filled with detained protesters were observed leaving the protest area. The CJP gained prominence during previous protests demanding education reforms and the resignation of the Education Minister. The movement originated from a viral social media post by Dipke, who had previously worked with the opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).