The Cockroach Janta Party has alleged that its Mumbai lead, Pranay Ahire, was assaulted by Delhi Police during a protest in the national capital on Saturday and is receiving hospital treatment. The allegation came as police detained thousands of protesters ahead of a planned mobilisation at Jantar Mantar seeking the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
In a post on X, the party said Ahire was present at the protest when the alleged assault occurred. It questioned the conduct of the police and said participation in a democratic protest should not result in violence. The party asked, “WHO GAVE YOU THE RIGHT TO LAY YOUR HANDS ON HIM?” and alleged that police personnel had used force against Ahire.
The organisation also said that wearing a uniform did not give police personnel permission to assault people. “A uniform is not a license to assault people. You are supposed to uphold the law and not make a mockery of it,” it said in the post. The party added that it would not be intimidated or silenced and would challenge the incident.
The alleged assault was reported during a wider security operation in Delhi linked to the planned protest at Jantar Mantar. The mobilisation was aimed at pressing for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over allegations concerning the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
CJP leader Abhijeet Dipke and party members Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were detained by Delhi Police after their flight from Mumbai landed in the national capital, according to the report. Dipke criticised the action and said the party’s leaders were being treated like criminals. He compared the police response to dictatorship and said even former prime minister Indira Gandhi had not taken such action.
YouTuber Dhruv Rathee, who lives abroad and had travelled to join the protest against Kumar, was also detained by police from his residence in Sector 56, Gurgaon, the report said. The account did not include a response from Delhi Police to the allegations concerning Ahire’s treatment, the detentions or the scale of the security operation. The reported next step is the party’s stated intention to challenge the alleged assault and continue opposing the police action.
