The arrest and judicial custody of two Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) leaders have intensified a dispute over demonstrations at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, while the party’s founder Abhijeet Dipke said its members would regroup after their expected release.
Dipke, who was released on conditional bail on Saturday, said on Sunday that he would meet lawyer Vrinda Ma’am to discuss legal matters connected with the case. He said the party would gather, reassess its next course of action and continue its campaign after Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were released.
Dipke alleged that recent arrests and detentions were intended to intimidate CJP members. Delhi Police, however, said the action followed alleged repeated violations of the law and concerns that the accused could disturb public peace or instigate others.
Das and Ranka were arrested on October 14 after CJP members allegedly entered Jantar Mantar, which is no longer a designated site for protests, and obstructed police personnel on duty. A special executive magistrate subsequently remanded the two men to five days of judicial custody.
According to the police, videos submitted during the proceedings purportedly showed CJP representatives jumping a gate and unfurling the national flag at the protest site. Two first information reports were registered in connection with the incident, including one invoking provisions related to criminal conspiracy. Another party representative, Ajinkya Shinde, was bound down to maintain peace and good behaviour.
The arrests followed a series of police actions involving CJP members who attempted to protest at Jantar Mantar after the location was removed from the list of designated demonstration venues. The change has made the site’s status central to the dispute, with police citing restrictions on unauthorised gatherings and the need to maintain public order.
Dipke was detained on Friday ahead of the CJP’s proposed ‘Lehra Do Tiranga’ march at Connaught Place. Delhi Police had served him a notice prohibiting the march. He was then arrested under preventive provisions of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and released on Saturday after submitting a written undertaking to maintain peace and tranquillity for one year.
The march had been organised to protest the detention and judicial custody of Das and Ranka. All India Students’ Association president Neha Bora, who was also detained ahead of the march, was released early on Saturday after the required formalities were completed.
In his statement after release, Dipke said the party would not back down and hoped that Das and Ranka would be released on Sunday. The immediate legal proceedings concerning the two leaders and the party’s next public action remain the next developments in the dispute.
