New Delhi: Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the satirical political collective Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), along with party leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, walked free on Sunday after a court in Delhi Cantonment ordered their release.
The order came hours after the three were taken into preventive custody.
The trio had been picked up on Saturday morning from an Air India aircraft soon after it touched down in the national capital from Mumbai. They were travelling to Delhi for the CJP’s proposed demonstration at Jantar Mantar against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Fresh Showdown In Capital
Their arrest occurred as the CJP prepared for the second day of its agitation, centred on allegations of irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The group has been demanding the resignation of the Chief Election Commissioner.
Saturday saw large-scale detentions across Delhi, with more than 3,000 people — including several politicians — held by police before being freed later that night. YouTuber Dhruv Rathee, a vocal supporter of Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and critic of the NDA government, was among those released after midnight, as reported by NDTV.
Unprecedented Security Grid
Delhi Police put in place an extraordinary security cordon around the capital to stop demonstrators from assembling at Jantar Mantar in central Delhi. The restrictions compelled protesters to disperse into smaller groups and hold demonstrations at multiple locations across the city.
Metro services resumed on Sunday morning, although a heavy police presence continued at every entry and exit point. Buses remained stationed close to key locations, apparently positioned to transport people taken into custody.
Supreme Court To Intervene
A major development expected later on Sunday is a special sitting of the Supreme Court to examine a contempt petition challenging the complete shutdown of Delhi Metro stations and train services on Saturday.
On Friday, a bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana had made it clear that metro operations should not face a total halt before the protest scheduled for Saturday.
‘Undeclared Emergency’ Claim
CJP organisers have vowed to keep their street protests alive until those responsible are held accountable for what they describe as the deletion and manipulation of 13 crore votes. They further alleged that an “undeclared emergency” has been imposed in the national capital to stop people from assembling peacefully.
BJP Hits Back
The BJP has dismissed the CJP as an extension of Opposition forces attempting to destabilise the nation. Party chief Nitin Nabin alleged that Opposition-linked groups were seeking to harm India through actions orchestrated by “foreign forces”.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh stressed that dissent remains a democratic right, saying, “every individual has the right to express dissent in a democracy.” At the same time, he warned against disorder, adding that people must not “forget that spreading anarchy is not anyone’s right.”