Key Takeaways
- Police arrested Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), and student leaders in Delhi.
- Protests demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar continue amid claims of voter list revisions.
- Supporters of the movement were detained during a flag-waving protest in Connaught Place.
Police in New Delhi have detained Abhijeet Dipke, the founder of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), and several student leaders as part of ongoing protests against the Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar.
The protests, led by the youth-led CJP and student organisations, have been held nearly daily this month, with participants demanding Kumar’s resignation over alleged voter list revisions that they claim favor the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
More than 130 million voters were reportedly deleted during the revision, a claim the Election Commission denies, stating that wrongly deleted voters can re-enrol.
The BJP has accused its rivals of attempting to undermine democracy by questioning legitimate electoral processes.
On Friday, Dipke was detained as he stepped out of a house in central Delhi, with police hauling him into a police car after a brief argument. Student activist Neha Bora, a prominent face of the protests, was also detained as she tried to reach Connaught Place with supporters.
Senior police officer Sachin Sharma confirmed that Dipke and Bora had been taken into preventive detention, stating, 'Abhijeet is detained by Delhi Police.'
Earlier in the day, police had warned Dipke against proceeding with the protest, but hundreds of protesters managed to gather in groups and wave flags in several locations around the Central Park.
A few protesters were detained and taken away in a police vehicle, with one, Saurav Kumar, a data analyst, saying, 'If waving the tricolour in the country has become a crime then I am happy to go to jail.'
Small protests were also held in Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Patna, with student organisations pushing against police barricades and waving flags of their organisations.
The Cockroach movement has emerged as a significant challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his BJP, having forced the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan earlier this year over exam paper leaks.
Abhijeet is detained by Delhi Police.
Senior police officer Sachin Sharma, Senior police officer
If waving the tricolour in the country has become a crime then I am happy to go to jail.
Saurav Kumar, a data analyst, Data analyst
