Three leaders of the Cockroach Janata Party, including co-conveners Saurabh Das and Ashutosh Ranka, were detained by Delhi Police on Tuesday after they reached Jantar Mantar to protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar without reported permission. The detention came before the 24-hour period the leaders had told police they would wait for after seeking a date for a peaceful demonstration.
Das, Ranka and national organisation in-charge Ajinkya Shinde were among 14 people detained after the group entered the Jantar Mantar area through a closed gate, according to Live Hindustan – NCR. The report said the protest site had reportedly been removed from the official list of designated demonstration venues a day earlier.
The leaders had visited Parliament Street police station on Monday to ask Delhi Police to decide the date and time for their proposed protest. Speaking outside the police station, Ranka said the party would give the police 24 hours to provide a date and would call for a demonstration if there was no response. Das said the party was leaving the decision to the police but would not allow the matter to remain pending indefinitely.
The group nevertheless reached Jantar Mantar before the 24-hour period had ended. The report said the leaders claimed, while being detained, that they had succeeded in reclaiming access to the protest site. The party has not publicly explained in the supplied report why it proceeded before the deadline it had announced, leaving the reason for the change in plan unconfirmed.
The dispute follows a wider review of protest arrangements in central Delhi. After a Parliament march on 20 July, Delhi Police began reconsidering arrangements at Jantar Mantar. The report also said the Supreme Court had suggested examining alternative demonstration venues, following which Delhi Police notified three grounds, including Ramlila Maidan, and removed Jantar Mantar from the list of designated sites. The supplied report does not provide the text of the court order or the police notification.
The party had earlier attempted to reach Jantar Mantar on 10 October but did not complete the plan. Its three senior leaders were detained after landing at Indira Gandhi International Airport, while police deployed additional security in the New Delhi area because permission had reportedly not been obtained. Citing PTI, the report said around 7,000 protesters were detained that day.
The Cockroach Janata Party had previously held a 36-day sit-in at Jantar Mantar over the alleged medical entrance examination paper leak and demanded the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The party claimed that the protest contributed to his resignation, although the supplied report does not independently establish that claim.
The latest episode places the focus on how Delhi manages access to designated protest spaces, the requirement for advance permission and the availability of alternative venues when a central demonstration site is removed from the official list. No further police response or explanation from the party on the timing of Tuesday’s protest was included in the supplied report.
