Two senior leaders of India’s Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, were sent to five days’ judicial custody after police arrested them for allegedly entering a restricted protest site in Delhi. The leaders appeared before a magistrate on Wednesday after police detained them at Jantar Mantar, a popular protest venue recently removed from Delhi’s list of authorised demonstration sites. The two were part of a group that climbed a locked gate and crossed barricades to enter Jantar Mantar on Tuesday. The Gen Z-led movement has been protesting for several days, demanding electoral reforms and the resignation of India’s top election official over alleged vote fraud, which the Election Commission denies.
Rahul Gandhi Condemns Arrests as CJP Leaders Face Five Days in Judicial Custody
Police accused Das, Ranka and fellow activist Ajinkya Shinde of trespassing, breaking peace agreements, violating restrictions and obstructing officials. However, all three denied the allegations. Delhi’s Special Executive Magistrate Court sent Das and Ranka to five days of judicial custody, while Shinde was released on a personal bond. Both leaders can now approach a higher court to seek bail. Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi condemned the arrests, calling them an act of cowardice. He supported peaceful protests at Jantar Mantar while continuing his separate demonstrations against the Election Commission’s actions. “Students. Youth. Journalists. The [opposition’s] INDIA bloc. Different banners, one cause. All protests are one: citizens demanding their constitutional rights,” he wrote on X.
Opposition Leaders Back CJP, Abhijeet Dipke Accuses Government of Suppressing Dissent
Other opposition leaders, including former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, also expressed support for CJP on X and condemned the arrests. Meanwhile, CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke, who was travelling to Delhi following the arrests, accused the government of suppressing voices of dissent. According to PTI, he also challenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to officially declare an Emergency in the country over the incident.
Thank you @pinarayivijayan sir for speaking out against the illegal arrest of @AshutoshRanka & @SauravDassss
— Abhijeet Dipke (@abhijeet_dipke) October 14, 2026
His comments compared the situation to India’s 1970s Emergency under then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, when civil liberties were restricted. The CJP is demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation over alleged electoral roll irregularities. Wednesday’s actions followed weekend protests, during which Das, Ranka, Shinde and Dipke were taken into preventive custody ahead of planned demonstrations at Jantar Mantar.
Prakash Raj, Prashant Bhushan Address Media After ‘No SIR’ Meeting in Delhi
Actor Prakash Raj, senior advocate Prashant Bhushan and youth organisation representatives addressed the media in New Delhi on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, after an emergency meeting of groups opposing the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls across the country.
Actor Prakash Raj, senior advocate Prashant Bhushan and representatives of youth organisations are addressing press conference following an emergency consultation meeting of platforms demanding ‘No SIR’ in New Delhi on Wednesday (October 14, 2026). Photos: @Sushil_Verma9 https://t.co/AMySZXMvLp
— The Hindu (@the_hindu) October 14, 2026
Police tightened security across Delhi, closing several metro stations and deploying thousands of personnel to stop protesters from reaching the site. Thousands, including journalists, were detained and later released. Videos showed police dragging protesters into buses by force. After the weekend protests, Delhi Police removed Jantar Mantar from its authorised protest sites list and designated Ramlila Maidan, Burari Ground and CBD Ground instead. CJP criticised the move, saying it would reduce protest visibility and limit protesters’ voices.
CJP Leaders Defy Restrictions as Protests Intensify Over SIR and Youth Unemployment
On Tuesday, the activists returned to Jantar Mantar despite restrictions. Videos shared by Dipke and other CJP leaders showed Das and Ranka crossing police barricades, carrying Indian flags and chanting slogans. “You cannot denotify the resistance,” Dipke wrote on X. Weeks of protests led by the movement, eventually resulting in Federal Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation. The group started as an online satire movement after Chief Justice of India Surya Kant compared some unemployed youths to cockroaches during a court hearing in May. Although he later clarified that his remarks were misinterpreted, his comments had already sparked widespread anger among young people demanding change.
The CJP began its latest nationwide protests in Mumbai on October 2. The controversy has brought fresh attention to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Opposition parties claim the voter verification exercise has favoured Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), but the Election Commission and government deny these allegations.
