Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke, co-convenor Saurav Das and spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka were detained by Delhi Police after arriving at the national capital on Saturday and taken to undisclosed locations ahead of their planned protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar at Jantar Mantar.
With the three prominent leaders out of reach, the party tapped its organisation in-charge, Ajinkya Shinde, to lead the demonstration, dubbed Jantar Mantar 2.0.
The detentions took place shortly after the leaders’ flight from Mumbai landed at Delhi airport. Police personnel reportedly boarded the aircraft and took them into custody before they could leave the plane.
The party had planned the protest to challenge the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and demand Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation.
Leaders' whereabouts remain unclear
The decision to take Dipke, Das and Ranka to undisclosed locations left their whereabouts unclear as the planned demonstration approached. NCP (SP) spokesperson Anish Gawande, who had travelled with the leaders from Mumbai, said they had been detained after landing in Delhi.
The detentions came amid heightened security arrangements in the capital ahead of the protest. Authorities had denied permission for the gathering, citing the late submission of the application.
CJP leaders had previously expressed apprehension that they could be detained to prevent the demonstration. Das had alleged that the government intended to arrest him, Dipke, Ranka and other party members ahead of the protest.
Ajinkya Shinde to lead Jantar Mantar 2.0
Despite the detention of its senior leaders, the CJP moved to keep its protest plans alive by naming Shinde to lead the gathering. The move was intended to ensure that the campaign continued even as Dipke, Das and Ranka remained at undisclosed locations.
The party’s protest centres on opposition to the SIR exercise, which has triggered political disputes over electoral-roll revisions and concerns about the exclusion of eligible voters. The Election Commission has maintained that the exercise is aimed at cleaning up electoral rolls.
Whether Shinde and other CJP members would be able to assemble at Jantar Mantar remained a key question amid the security restrictions and police action against people arriving for the planned demonstration.