NEW DELHI, Oct 10: Delhi Police detained Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke and party members Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka inside an aircraft after it landed in the national capital on Saturday, ahead of the party’s planned protest at Jantar Mantar against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Dipke, who travelled from Mumbai to Delhi to lead the demonstration, livestreamed the incident on Instagram. The video showed police personnel entering the aircraft and confronting the three members, who questioned why they were being detained before they could disembark.
“You could have waited till we came out. Come arrest us, we are not afraid,” Dipke was heard telling women police personnel in the video.
The CJP alleged that the detentions were part of a pre-planned operation to prevent its leadership from reaching the protest venue. In a statement, the party condemned what it described as the “authoritarian detention” of Dipke, Das and Ranka and demanded their immediate and unconditional release, calling the action a violation of freedom of movement.
Earlier on Saturday, YouTuber Dhruv Rathee and Ratna Singh, head of the party’s legal cell, were also detained at their residences, according to the party.
Delhi Police had denied permission for the proposed protest on Friday, citing the failure to seek approval sufficiently in advance.
The detentions came amid heightened security across the national capital. According to the report, police detained more than 400 people suspected of planning to join protests at different locations overnight. Restrictions were also imposed on public transport, with 45 Metro stations reportedly shut and several train services cancelled.
More than 20,000 Delhi Police and Central Armed Police Forces personnel were deployed to maintain law and order.
The available information did not independently establish whether the three CJP members were formally arrested or taken into preventive custody.
