New Delhi: Delhi Police detained Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke, spokesperson Sourav Das and party leader Ashutosh Ranka inside an aircraft at Indira Gandhi International Airport on Saturday. The action came ahead of the party’s proposed protest at Jantar Mantar demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and raising concerns over alleged irregularities in voter lists.
According to media reports, police personnel boarded the aircraft after it arrived in Delhi from Mumbai and took the three leaders into custody. Dipke shared a video of the incident on social media, questioning police personnel about why they had not stopped the leaders after they disembarked. In the video, he is heard saying that they had come to court arrest and that the police could arrest them. The personnel responded that it was not an arrest and asked them to cooperate.
Meanwhile, YouTuber Dhruv Rathee, who had returned to India from Germany earlier that week to support the protest, was also reportedly detained at his residence in Gurugram on Saturday morning. Media reports said around 50 police personnel reached his residence and took him into custody. Other CJP activists were also reportedly detained, including Ratna Singh, head of the party’s legal team.
In a statement on social media, the CJP condemned the detention of its leaders before they could reach the protest venue and demanded their immediate and unconditional release. The party described the action as an attempt to undermine the protest.
Delhi Police had denied permission for the proposed demonstration. Dipke had questioned the requirement for prior permission to hold a protest, invoking the right to protest under Article 19 of the Constitution.
The denial of permission and the detention of party leaders have brought the proposed demonstration into focus amid a wider debate over the right to protest and civil liberties.