Leaders of the Citizens’ Justice Party (CJP) were detained inside a flight at Delhi airport on Saturday ahead of the party’s proposed Jantar Mantar 2.0 protest, while police also detained some people who had begun gathering for the demonstration, according to a report by the Times of India.
CJP leaders Abhijeet Dipke, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were detained from inside the aircraft, the report said. A video shared by the party on X showed Dipke objecting to the action and repeatedly saying that the leaders had come to Delhi to be arrested.
“You can see where the nation is heading. They are here to arrest us directly from the flight,” Dipke said in the video, according to the report. He described the action as “dictatorship” and alleged that Delhi Police had entered the flight to detain the leaders. These allegations were made by Dipke during the detention and were not independently established in the supplied report.
The video also showed passengers and CJP leaders raising slogans, including “Bharat Mata ki Jai” and “Inquilab Zindabad”. Dipke asked officers to send senior personnel and male officers forward before agreeing to leave with them. He also questioned which legal provisions would be applied against him, referring to possible cases from Rajasthan and other locations.
The reported detentions came before the CJP’s proposed gathering at Jantar Mantar, a designated protest site in central Delhi that has historically been used for public demonstrations under conditions set by the authorities. The report said Delhi Police had earlier detained some protesters who were beginning to assemble ahead of the event. It did not provide details of the number of people detained, the legal sections invoked or whether formal arrests had been recorded.
CJP spokesperson Saurav Das responded to reports of the detentions on X, writing, “Not few. A storm is coming.” He had earlier urged people to gather at Jantar Mantar, describing the proposed demonstration as a movement to protect democracy, reclaim the country and secure the future of Gen-Z. He said the protest would continue until a corruption-free system was ensured.
The report also said YouTuber Dhruv Rathee was reportedly detained by Gurugram Police on Saturday morning after allegedly refusing advice not to attend the demonstration. Sources cited in the report said plain-clothes police personnel detained him. The supplied report did not include a police statement confirming the detention or details of any case against him.
Das separately alleged that Delhi Police had exposed his phone number while circulating documents linked to the party’s previous protest and a letter denying permission for the proposed Jantar Mantar demonstration. He said he received more than 300 calls and several WhatsApp messages within an hour. He further alleged that the disclosure was part of a possible coordinated campaign and criticised media organisations for publishing the documents without redacting his number.
The report did not state whether the proposed protest was ultimately permitted, cancelled or relocated. It also did not provide a detailed response from Delhi Police to the allegations concerning the airport detention, the reported detentions at Jantar Mantar or the disclosure of Das’s phone number.
