Delhi Court orders release of CJP leaders on condition they maintain peace for one year

The proposed Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar turned into a major political confrontation in Delhi, with police detaining thousands of demonstrators and opposition leaders accusing the government of curbing democratic rights. The protest was called over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and changes relating to Form 6, which is used for voter registration.

Delhi Police denied permission for the gathering at Jantar Mantar, citing procedural issues and law-and-order concerns. Heavy security deployment, barricades, traffic diversions and restrictions on transport and mobile internet complicated access to central Delhi. Despite these measures, some protesters travelled for hours or walked long distances to reach the area.

The crackdown began before the proposed demonstration got underway. CJP leaders Abhijeet Dipke, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were detained inside their aircraft after arriving from Mumbai. YouTuber Dhruv Rathee was detained from his Gurugram residence, while students, lawyers and activists were picked up at several locations.

With its senior leaders in custody, the CJP urged supporters to continue towards Jantar Mantar. National organisation in-charge Ajinkya Shinde called on protesters to turn any location where police stopped them into their “Jantar Mantar”. He accused the Centre of fearing the party’s mobilisation and said the campaign would continue until Kumar resigned.

The detentions extended to prominent opposition figures, including former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Banerjee alleged that she and Trinamool Congress MPs had been taken away in a prison van and driven around for two hours. Vijayan accused the government of turning Delhi into an “open prison”.
The incidents also included reports of clashes and stone-pelting. Six police personnel, including a member of the Pink Force, were reported injured during detentions. Police said protesters allegedly threw stones near Akashwani Bhawan and the Hanuman temple in Connaught Place.

Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, accused the government of suppressing dissent. Kharge said the country’s “Mother of Democracy” had been turned into a “Muzzled Democracy”. The Congress and INDIA bloc announced plans for a further protest on October 12.

The BJP rejected the allegations and defended the police action. Ravi Shankar Prasad said the country would be “governed by Parliament and not the streets”, while Sambit Patra accused protesters of attempting to create unrest. By the end of the day, police said more than 7,000 people had been detained and an FIR was likely over the alleged assault on personnel.