CJP Live: Das Accuses Police Of Assault, Illegal Detentions
Security Tightened Across Central Delhi As Protesters March Towards Jantar Mantar
Several protesters, including members of student organisations, were detained while marching towards Jantar Mantar from Connaught Place and Rajiv Chowk on Sunday, as the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) protest demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation entered its second day. Protesters raised slogans against the CEC, while security personnel dragged several of them towards police buses.
The Students' Federation of India alleged that its national president Adarsh M Saji, Delhi state secretary Sooraj Elamon and hundreds of members were attacked and detained, with Saji sustaining a forehead injury. Protesters alleged manhandling and questioned the police action, maintaining that their demonstration was peaceful. Police continued extensive security arrangements across central Delhi, keeping Jantar Mantar sealed and maintaining barricades and traffic diversions.
More than 30,000 police and paramilitary personnel were deployed across the city. Over 7,000 protesters were detained on Saturday, including CJP leaders Abhijeet Dipke, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, as authorities prevented demonstrators from reaching Jantar Mantar. The CJP and opposition parties are demanding Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. Metro services have returned to normal, with all station gates reopened, while rail restrictions have also ended.
The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on Sunday said five of its leaders — Ankit Bharadwaj, Anam, Mukesh All-rounder, Balakrishna and Sudhir Sangwan — were detained while protesting peacefully. Reiterating its resolve to continue the agitation, the group said it would neither back down nor be intimidated, adding, “This is the beginning of the end of this dictatorship.”
Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leader Saurav Das on Sunday accused the Delhi Police of harassing independent journalists and forcefully entering Bangla Sahib gurdwara with shoes and weapons to detain protesters during demonstrations against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Addressing a press conference, Das alleged that independent journalists covering the Gen Z movement were being assaulted and harassed, with authorities asking them to wear name tags.
“The government of India is at war with journalism,” he said, accusing the police of pressuring the gurdwara management to remove protesters. He appealed to the Sikh community to support the movement, alleging that the government was using force to protect Kumar.
“The end is very near for this government,” Das said, questioning what information Kumar possessed that required the government to protect him. He also raised questions about the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Das further alleged that right-wing groups had instigated violence at Jantar Mantar but faced no police action, while protesters were being targeted. He claimed that CJP leader Pranay was assaulted in custody and questioned the silence of the National Human Rights Commission and the Supreme Court.
Describing the situation in Delhi as an “emergency-like situation”, Das alleged that police detained CJP leaders without providing written grounds, seized their phones without issuing seizure memos and denied them access to lawyers.
He also expressed suspicion that their phones could have been cloned or tampered with during detention.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday said he and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi would meet Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Monday between 4 pm and 5 pm to apprise him of the state of democracy in the country. Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, Kharge said both leaders had written to the CJI seeking an appointment and would submit their concerns. He also accused the Narendra Modi-led government of undermining the Election Commission’s autonomy to facilitate alleged “vote chori”, or electoral fraud.
The family of Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) convenor Abhijeet Dipke on Sunday alleged that Delhi Police did not release him in time to attend his grandmother’s funeral following her prolonged illness, while police said he was informed of her death and offered travel assistance, which he declined. Dipke, along with CJP leaders Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das, was detained ahead of the party’s protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and released on Sunday after being produced before an executive magistrate, on the condition that they would not breach peace for a year. Dipke’s 85-year-old grandmother, Savitribai Shankarrao Dipke, died in Maharashtra’s Hingoli district on Saturday, and her last rites were held on Sunday morning.
Four men claiming to be members of the Hindu Raksha Dal have been arrested for allegedly assaulting students and manhandling women on Delhi’s DDU Marg during the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest on October 10, police said on Sunday. The arrests followed a video of the incident going viral on social media, prompting police to take suo motu action despite no formal complaint being filed. The accused have been identified as Raman Saini, 50, Vivekanand alias Vivek, 32, Kapil Kumar, 27, and Ravinder Singh alias Govind Hindu, 35, a senior police officer said. The incident occurred amid widespread detentions during protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.