A protest by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision process disrupted movement across central Delhi on Saturday, with police detaining party leaders and other participants, closing key roads and restricting access to parts of New Delhi ahead of a proposed gathering at Jantar Mantar.
CJP said its nationwide demonstrations would continue despite the detention of its leaders and demanded the immediate resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The party has linked the protest to alleged irregularities in the SIR process, while police and authorities increased security around Jantar Mantar, the airport, railway stations, bus routes and Delhi’s borders with Gurugram.
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke, co-convener Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were detained after their flight landed at Indira Gandhi International Airport. According to the report, Delhi Police officers entered the aircraft after it landed and took the three men into custody. They were later taken away from the airport in a bus, although their destination was not immediately known.
Before his detention, Dipke recorded a video message from inside the aircraft, in which he said he was prepared to be arrested. The report also quoted him as alleging that the situation was worse than during the Emergency. CJP co-convener Saurav Das alleged that officials were using force to stop what the party described as a constitutional movement. These claims were made by the party and were not independently established in the supplied report.
CJP’s legal head Ratna Singh was also detained before the proposed demonstration. The report said police had detained around 150 people in the New Delhi area by the time of publication. CJP additionally demanded the release of YouTuber Dhruv Rathee and other citizens and student activists whom it said had been detained. The party claimed that approximately 50 plainclothes police personnel went to Rathee’s home in Gurugram at about 8 am. The report did not provide a police account of these detentions.
The security operation affected roads around Connaught Place and central government districts. Closures or restrictions were reported at the Connaught Place outer circle near the Barakhamba Road intersection, Gol Dak Khana roundabout, Windsor Palace roundabout, the Tolstoy Road–Janpath crossing, the Connaught Place outer circle near the Parliament Street intersection, Patel Chowk and the Jai Singh Road–Ashoka Road intersection. Delhi Police reportedly updated the affected routes on Google Maps for commuters.
Traffic movement was also affected on routes between Gurugram and Delhi. Police checks began at the Kapashera, Sarhaul and Aya Nagar borders from 6 am, with vehicles being checked and some people allegedly prevented from entering Delhi. The report said the Dwarka Expressway border did not face similar restrictions until at least 8 am. Traffic congestion was reported in several parts of central Delhi as security forces prevented protesters from moving towards Jantar Mantar.
Public transport operations were also affected. The report said 13 trains travelling from Rewari towards Delhi were cancelled, while bus routes into Delhi were diverted through the Dwarka Expressway and Kundli-Manesar-Palwal Expressway. Conditions at Old Delhi and Hazrat Nizamuddin railway stations were described as broadly normal, with fewer crowds and passengers continuing to reach the stations by metro and private vehicles.
A contempt petition was reportedly filed in the Supreme Court over the closure of several metro stations. The petition alleged that the closures and cancellation of trains violated an earlier court direction against completely shutting down transport services. It named Union Home Ministry Secretary Govind Mohan, Delhi Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation chairperson D. Thara. The report did not state whether the court had issued any fresh order on the petition.
The protest also led to a confrontation at the political level. BJP national president Nitin Nabin accused the INDIA bloc and CJP-linked groups of attempting to create instability with the support of foreign forces. These were political allegations made in his statement and were not accompanied by evidence in the supplied report. CJP, meanwhile, maintained that protests over the SIR process would continue regardless of whether its leaders were present.
The immediate official next steps were continued security deployment around central Delhi, monitoring of entry points and enforcement of restrictions around Jantar Mantar. The report did not provide details of the legal grounds for each detention or a confirmed timeline for the release of those taken into custody.
