A court in New Delhi has remanded two leaders of the Cockroach movement to five days of judicial custody after police detained them during a protest at Jantar Mantar.
The arrests came after authorities withdrew the site’s status as an official protest venue earlier this week, prompting demonstrators to challenge the move.
The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and other opposition groups have staged protests in recent days following a report that two election commissioners raised concerns with Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over decisions related to voter-list revisions in several states and federal territories. Demonstrators have demanded Kumar’s resignation.
Police said CJP leaders Saurav Das, Ashutosh Ranka and Ajinkya Shinde, along with 11 other party members, reached Jantar Mantar on Tuesday despite attempts to stop them.
“Police personnel deployed at the spot intervened and attempted to stop them. However, the protesters allegedly obstructed police personnel in the discharge of their official duties,” police said, adding that all 14 were detained.
Police said the youth leaders were arrested under preventive legal provisions over what they described as repeated attempts to disturb public peace and violate the law.
On Wednesday, Das and Ranka were remanded to five days of judicial custody by a special executive magistrate court.
Police argued that their release could lead to further violations of the law and encourage others to do the same.
The opposition alleges that the voter-list revision has led to the removal of large numbers of voters. The Election Commission maintains that its actions were lawful.
Rahul Gandhi, leader of the main opposition Congress party, condemned the arrests in a post on X.
“Waving the Tricolour at Jantar Mantar in a peaceful protest is not a crime. Jailing youth for it is an act of cowardice,” Gandhi said. “Jantar Mantar belongs to the people of India. We will reclaim it.”
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party accused opposition parties and “foreign powers” of seeking to “destabilise the country”, while saying Congress was attacking constitutional institutions for political gain.
