Delhi Police detained Cockroach Janta Party chief spokesperson Saurav Das and national spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka on Tuesday as they attempted to reach Jantar Mantar, shortly after the protest site was de-notified as a designated venue for demonstrations.
According to sources quoted by news agency PTI, the two leaders were detained while trying to reach the central Delhi location. CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke also claimed on social media that party members carrying the national flag entered Jantar Mantar before being detained by police. The claims were reported by The Times of India; the report did not include an independent account from the detained members or their representatives beyond their social media posts.
Das said in a post that the group had entered Jantar Mantar and was being detained. Ranka separately posted the message “Hands Off Jantar Mantar”. Dipke linked the action to an INDIA bloc protest and alleged that the decision to remove Jantar Mantar’s designated status was intended to restrict demonstrations. These statements were attributed to the CJP leaders and were not independently verified in the report.
The immediate trigger was an official notice issued by Delhi Police on Monday. The notice stated that Jantar Mantar had been de-notified as a designated venue for protests and demonstrations. It also identified Ramlila Ground, Burari Ground and CBD Ground in east Delhi as alternative locations for such gatherings.
The notice followed recommendations from a committee constituted by the Ministry of Home Affairs to examine alternative venues where citizens could organise protests and demonstrations. The report did not provide details of the committee’s membership, the criteria used to select the three replacement grounds or the operational conditions that will apply to protests at those sites.
Jantar Mantar has been one of Delhi’s most recognisable public locations for demonstrations, allowing groups to stage protests close to the central administrative and political district. The decision changes the city’s formal arrangement for public assembly by shifting designated demonstrations to three other grounds, including locations in Burari and east Delhi.
The change also creates an administrative distinction between access to a public place and its formal designation as a protest venue. While the official notice identifies alternative sites, the supplied report does not state whether existing permissions, restrictions, capacity limits or notification procedures will differ at the new locations. It also does not specify whether demonstrations already planned at Jantar Mantar will be relocated or cancelled.
The detentions brought the change into immediate focus. Das, Ranka and other CJP members attempted to reach the former designated venue on the same day that the party challenged the decision publicly. Delhi Police’s action, as reported, occurred in the context of the new venue arrangement, although the report did not provide details of the legal grounds for the detentions or state how long the leaders were held.
For Delhi residents and organisations seeking to organise demonstrations, the next practical question is how the three alternative grounds will function as protest spaces. The official notice provides the locations, while further details on permissions, access and implementation were not included in the report. The Ministry of Home Affairs committee’s recommendations and Delhi Police’s notice therefore remain the key documents governing the transition away from Jantar Mantar.
