A dispute over Jantar Mantar’s status as a designated protest venue escalated on Monday after Cockroach Janta Party leader Saurav Das claimed that party members had entered the site and were being detained by Delhi Police.
Das announced the claim in a post on X, saying the group had entered Jantar Mantar despite the venue being removed from Delhi’s list of designated protest sites. He urged young supporters to continue the campaign and described the development as a reclamation of the protest site.
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke separately claimed that Das, Ranka, Ajinkya Shinde and other party members had been detained. The detention claims were shared on social media and reported by the Times of India. The report did not include an independent statement from Delhi Police confirming the detentions.
The dispute follows Delhi Police’s decision a day earlier to remove Jantar Mantar from the list of designated venues for demonstrations. The decision came after a review of alternative protest locations by a committee constituted by the Union home ministry.
Police have designated Ramlila Ground, Burari Ground and CBD Ground in east Delhi as alternative venues for protests. The change affects how demonstrations in the national capital are planned and regulated, as protesters seeking to gather at Jantar Mantar may now be required to use one of the newly designated locations instead.
Earlier on Monday, CJP activists visited Parliament Street police station and asked Delhi Police to specify a date and time for their proposed demonstration at Jantar Mantar. Das said the party was willing to allow the police to choose the date and time, arguing that the authorities could no longer cite the requirement to apply 10 days in advance as a reason for delaying the protest.
The party has been demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. The allegation is a political claim made by the party and has not been established in the supplied report.
The dispute is also linked to an earlier attempt by CJP to hold a demonstration at Jantar Mantar on October 10. That attempt was thwarted by a major security operation, during which party leaders Abhijeet Dipke, Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das were detained, according to the report.
The immediate issue remains whether the protest can proceed at Jantar Mantar after its removal from the designated-venue list. Delhi Police’s alternative locations and any further response on the claimed detentions will determine the next step in the confrontation.
