Cockroach Janta Party founder among hundreds detained at Delhi protest

Delhi Police detained hundreds of demonstrators on Saturday as the Gen-Z-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) pressed ahead with a protest calling for electoral reforms, despite being refused permission to gather at the Jantar Mantar landmark. Among those held were the group's founder, Abhijeet Dipke, and two other leaders, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, who were detained shortly after their flight from Mumbai landed. The CJP said the three men had been taken to an undisclosed location; Delhi Police has not commented on the detentions.

Tens of thousands of security personnel were deployed and roads barricaded before the demonstration, and the large crowd expected in the capital was unable to reach Jantar Mantar because of the security presence and blockades. Several trains to and from major Delhi stations were cancelled, and dozens of metro stations were shut from Friday night. Buses carrying detained protesters were seen driving away from the protest site, while public announcements urged residents to cooperate with police.

The movement began in May, after India's Chief Justice likened some jobless young people to cockroaches, according to the CJP. The group, which is not registered as a political party, is seeking electoral reforms just months before crucial state elections. It has also demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over allegations that voters' lists are being manipulated — claims the Election Commission has denied.

Under Kumar, the commission has carried out a nationwide exercise to update electoral rolls, describing it as routine work to remove dead, duplicate or ineligible voters. In many states the process has proved contentious, with tens of thousands of people alleging they were wrongly removed. The CJP and opposition parties accuse Kumar of favouring Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party in the way the rolls are updated; both the commission and the BJP have denied this.

Before travelling to Delhi, Dipke said threats of jail or imprisonment would not stop the movement, according to the CJP. With the leadership detained, Ajinkya Shinde, the group's newly designated leader, released a video telling protesters that wherever Delhi Police stops them will become their Jantar Mantar. Student activist Neha Bora, who was also detained, urged demonstrators to hold the line.

One protester, Sabika Muzaffar, told the BBC that she and her mother had expected to be detained. She said that on the way to the protest site, instead of reciting hymns and verses as they usually do, the two were memorising their lawyer's phone number, describing her attendance as a way of defending the country and its democracy. Minutes after speaking to the BBC, she was taken away by police.