Delhi Police detained Cockroach Janta Party leaders Saurav Das, Ashutosh Ranka and team member Ajinkya Shinde on Tuesday while they were attempting to enter Jantar Mantar, according to police sources cited by the Times of India. The action followed the recent removal of Jantar Mantar from Delhi’s list of designated protest venues.
A video shared on Instagram by Das appears to have been recorded from inside a detention bus. In the video, Das says party members had entered Jantar Mantar before being detained and taken away by police. Footage shows scenes outside the protest site as Das addresses supporters and raises slogans alongside other detained members.
The video also includes comments from Ranka, who says the party will continue its demonstration at Jantar Mantar and demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The CJP has been campaigning over what it describes as irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. Those allegations were presented by the party as the basis for its protest campaign.
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke claimed that several other party members carrying the national flag had entered the venue before being detained. In a post on X, Dipke wrote, “You cannot denotify the resistance,” while sharing a video that purportedly showed party members jumping over a gate and raising slogans. The account could not be independently verified from the material supplied in the report.
The detentions came after Delhi Police de-notified Jantar Mantar as a protest venue on October 11. The decision followed recommendations from a Union home ministry committee tasked with identifying suitable locations for demonstrations. Police designated Ramlila Maidan in central Delhi, Burari Ground in north Delhi and CBD Ground in Shahdara as alternative protest locations.
The change in venue policy followed a Supreme Court direction asking authorities to identify a suitable alternative site with basic facilities for protesters. Jantar Mantar had long functioned as a central location for demonstrations in the capital, making its removal from the designated list an important change in how public protests are managed in central Delhi.
The CJP has maintained that it will continue its campaign despite the denial of permission for its proposed demonstration. In the video, party members can be heard raising slogans as police action continues. The supplied report does not provide details on whether the detained leaders were formally arrested, the duration of their detention or whether any charges were filed.
