Two senior leaders of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, have been remanded to five days of judicial custody following their arrest for allegedly entering Delhi’s Jantar Mantar protest site without authorisation. The two appeared before a magistrate on Wednesday, a day after they allegedly climbed over a locked gate and crossed police barricades to enter the site. Jantar Mantar, a prominent venue for demonstrations in the national capital, was recently removed from Delhi’s list of authorised protest locations.
Police have accused Das, Ranka and fellow activist Ajinkya Shinde of trespassing, violating prohibitory orders, breaching a peace bond and obstructing public officials. The activists have denied the allegations. The Special Executive Magistrate Court remanded Das and Ranka to five days of judicial custody to facilitate further investigation. Shinde, meanwhile, was released on a personal bond. Das and Ranka can approach a higher court to seek bail.
The arrests come amid a series of protests led by the youth-driven CJP, which has been demanding electoral reforms and the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in electoral rolls. The Election Commission has denied any wrongdoing. The latest detentions follow a police crackdown over the weekend, when several CJP leaders were taken into preventive custody ahead of planned demonstrations in Delhi and subsequently released by a magistrate.
Delhi Police have designated Ramlila Maidan, Burari Ground and CBD Ground as alternative venues for demonstrations. The CJP has criticised the decision to remove Jantar Mantar from the list of authorised protest sites, arguing that the move would make protests less visible and restrict demonstrators’ ability to reach a wider audience.
On Tuesday, CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke and other leaders shared videos purportedly showing Das and Ranka entering Jantar Mantar by climbing over police barricades. The footage showed the activists raising slogans while holding the Indian national flag.
“You cannot denotify the resistance,” Dipke wrote on X.
Following the detention, Ratna Singh, head of the CJP’s legal team, alleged that the activists were denied access to their lawyers for several hours. She also claimed that they were taken to Parliament Street Police Station in a private vehicle at around 3 am. The CJP had called for a demonstration at Jantar Mantar on Saturday. Authorities responded with heightened security measures across the capital to prevent protesters from reaching the site.
Several metro stations were closed, train services were disrupted, and thousands of police and paramilitary personnel were deployed. Police detained and subsequently released thousands of people over the weekend, including journalists. Videos and photographs circulating from the protests appeared to show officers forcibly dragging demonstrators, including women, and pushing them into buses.
The current agitation follows student-led protests earlier this year over alleged examination irregularities and demands for reforms in the education system. The CJP organised weeks of demonstrations that culminated in the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, according to the account provided.
The group initially emerged as an online satire movement after Chief Justice of India Surya Kant reportedly compared some unemployed young people to cockroaches during a court hearing in May. Although he later said his remarks had been misinterpreted, the comparison became a rallying cry among young people expressing frustration over unemployment and institutional accountability.
Since the earlier protests, the CJP has developed into a pressure group, drawing support from young people concerned about unemployment, examination irregularities and government accountability. Its latest campaign has centred on demands for electoral reforms and action over alleged discrepancies in voter lists.
