Two leaders of the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, were detained by Delhi Police on Tuesday after allegedly entering Jantar Mantar by scaling a wall, according to a report by Live Hindustan – NCR. The incident took place amid heightened security in the capital over a planned protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The report said Ranka and Das were detained on allegations of unauthorised entry into the designated protest venue. CJP founder Abhijit Deepke also claimed on social media that Ajinkya Shinde and several other party members had been detained by the police.
A video shared by Deepke reportedly shows some CJP members carrying the national flag and entering Jantar Mantar by climbing over a gate or wall. Police personnel can be seen moving towards the group and taking members away, according to the report. The video also reportedly captures slogans of “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” being raised by the participants.
Ranka acknowledged the manner in which the group entered the venue in a response to a post on X. When a user described the CJP members as attempting to reach Jantar Mantar, Ranka replied that they had not merely tried to go there but had crossed the barricading and entered the premises. His response was quoted in the report as saying, “Sir, we did not go there, we entered inside.”
The incident came as the CJP called for a protest against Gyanesh Kumar, demanding his resignation and action over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The report did not provide details of any police case, charges or further legal action against the detained individuals.
Security was increased in Delhi ahead of the planned demonstration, with a large number of police personnel deployed to maintain law and order, according to the report. Jantar Mantar is a regulated protest location, and access controls and barricading are used to manage demonstrations in the central Delhi area.
Deepke criticised the detentions in a social media post and tagged Prime Minister Narendra Modi, stating that the “voice of protest” could not be silenced. That claim was made by the CJP founder and was not independently verified in the supplied report.
The incident highlights the immediate operational challenge for Delhi authorities when planned demonstrations coincide with attempts to enter a restricted or regulated protest site without following access controls. The supplied report did not state how many people were detained in total, whether the leaders were later released, or whether the police issued a formal statement. Further action will depend on the police response and the status of any cases arising from the alleged entry.
