Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke has said the outfit will regroup and decide its future course of action after its spokespersons Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka return from judicial custody. The group has been protesting in Delhi against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Election Commission of India's (ECI) Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Dipke said on Sunday that the recent arrests and detentions would not deter the outfit from continuing its campaign. He alleged that the action against its members was intended to intimidate them.
"Once Saurav and Ashu come, we will gather, restrategise, and determine how to move forward. Given what we have witnessed over the past few days, including the illegal arrests and detentions, it is clear that there is an attempt to intimidate us," Dipke said, according to news agency ANI.
"However, we will neither be intimidated nor back down. This is a long battle, and we are fully prepared for it. Hopefully, both of them will be released today," he added.
Dipke granted conditional bail after arrest
Dipke was granted conditional bail on Saturday, a day after he was detained while heading to Connaught Place in Delhi and subsequently arrested.
The CJP founder had called for a 'Lehra Do Tiranga' march on Friday, October 16, at 5 pm. Delhi Police served him a notice asking him not to participate in the march just hours before it was scheduled to begin.
Despite the notice, Dipke left for Connaught Place on Friday evening, where he was detained shortly afterwards.
Das and Ranka sent to five days of judicial custody
CJP spokespersons Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka remain in custody after a Special Executive Magistrate (SEM) remanded them to five days of judicial custody on Wednesday. The order came a day after the two allegedly breached the de-notified protest site at Jantar Mantar.
Their continued detention has left Dipke waiting for their release before the outfit decides its next steps. In a post on X on Saturday, he wrote: "Now just waiting for my brothers to be free..."
Protests over alleged irregularities in electoral rolls
The CJP's agitation comes amid demonstrations in Delhi against CEC Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the SIR exercise. Opposition leaders have also continued to protest against the revision of electoral rolls.
The controversy centres on concerns raised by protesters over the electoral roll revision process and its implications for voters. CJP has said it intends to continue its campaign despite the arrests and detentions, with Dipke maintaining that the group will regroup and determine its strategy once Das and Ranka return.
Clarify the release timelineTighten the repetitive conclusionUse exact custody wording