Three leaders of the Cockroach Janata Party were released from Delhi Cantonment Police Station on Sunday morning after an Executive Magistrate ordered their release, more than 24 hours after they were detained under preventive-arrest provisions during a planned protest in Delhi.
Abhijeet Dipke, Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das were released around 10.15 am amid a heavy police presence outside the station. The Delhi Police said the three had been placed under preventive arrest on October 10 under Sections 126 and 170 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), and were produced before the Sub-Divisional Executive Magistrate court in Delhi Cantonment on October 11.
According to a police statement, the leaders were released after furnishing a surety bond of Rs 50,000 for maintaining peace and good behaviour for one year. “All due legal procedures were followed and they were produced before the SEM Court, Delhi Cantt on October 11,” the police said.
The three leaders had arrived in Delhi from Mumbai to stage a sit-in at Jantar Mantar, seeking the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Dipke and the other leaders were detained at Indira Gandhi International Airport shortly after their flight landed on Saturday morning. Police personnel subsequently took them to different police stations, where they remained in custody for 24 hours.
The Delhi Police had denied permission for the proposed demonstration, citing prohibitory orders imposed under Section 163 of the BNSS in the New Delhi area. The provision is used to restrict gatherings and other activities when authorities believe they may affect public order. The police said the preventive action was intended to prevent an imminent disturbance.
Section 126 of the BNSS allows a magistrate to require a person to execute a bond for maintaining peace, while Section 170 empowers the police to make preventive arrests. The provisions correspond to Sections 107 and 151 of the earlier Code of Criminal Procedure, according to a police officer quoted by The Indian Express.
The police said around 7,000 people were detained in Delhi on Saturday after allegedly attempting to march towards Jantar Mantar. The force also reported injuries to some of its personnel while controlling the crowd. Security was tightened across central Delhi, with around 30,000 personnel deployed and multiple layers of barricades installed in the area.
The CJP had called for another protest march to Jantar Mantar on Sunday and said it would hold a press conference at 2 pm. Members of the party’s legal team were also expected to be present during the leaders’ release. The police statement said the leaders were released following the Executive Magistrate court’s order and the submission of the required bond.
