Delhi Police detain over 500 protesters including Cockroach Janta Party leaders ahead of Jantar Mantar march

Delhi Police detained more than 500 protesters across the city on Saturday, October 10, 2026, ahead of a planned demonstration at Jantar Mantar. Cockroach Janta Party leaders Abhijeet Dipke, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were detained when they arrived in Delhi for the protest. Intelligence sources said the three leaders were taken to three different locations in the Delhi-NCR region after being stopped.

Detention Details

CJP legal affairs head Ratna Singh was detained outside her residence in Jangpura, New Delhi. She stated that police officials arrived at her home at around 8.45 a.m. and attempted to enter without a warrant, which her flatmate prevented. Ms. Singh reported that she was blocked inside a car with advocates Tara Narula and Shivangi Sharma, surrounded by Delhi Police and CRPF personnel acting on verbal orders from above. She announced plans to challenge her detention before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate through advocates Adit Pujari and Sowjhanya Shankaran.

Protest Demands

The protest was organized by the CJP alongside several Left organisations to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the rollback of the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. A CJP statement accused the police of attempting to cripple the leadership of peaceful demonstrations before they could reach the site, calling the action a violation of freedom of movement.

Context

Large-scale preventive detentions by police forces are commonly deployed in the national capital ahead of high-profile political demonstrations to maintain public order. The Chief Election Commissioner heads the Election Commission of India, an independent constitutional body responsible for administering election processes in the country.