CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke and members Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were detained at Delhi Airport ahead of a proposed Jantar Mantar protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in electoral roll revision.
Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke and party members Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were detained by police at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport on Saturday ahead of the party’s proposed protest at Jantar Mantar against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
According to police, the three CJP members were detained after arriving at the airport. Delhi Police personnel reportedly entered the aircraft carrying Dipke after it landed at IGI Airport, where the party founder and the two other members were taken into custody from the flight itself.
Dipke shared a video of the incident on his social media account, showing police personnel entering the aircraft. In the video, he was heard telling the police, “…I have come here to be arrested; arrest me.”
The Cockroach Janta Party also announced the detentions through a post on its social media handle. The party wrote, “Abhijeet Dipke DETAINED! Saurav Das DETAINED! Ashutosh Ranka DETAINED!” The announcement came as the party’s proposed demonstration against the Election Commission was scheduled to take place at Jantar Mantar later in the day.
Dipke had left Mumbai for Delhi earlier on Saturday morning to lead the planned protest. The demonstration was intended to raise concerns over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls across the country and to target Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the issue.
The SIR process has become a subject of political debate, with critics raising concerns about the revision of electoral rolls. The proposed CJP demonstration was part of the party’s effort to bring its objections to the process into public focus. The allegations against the electoral roll revision remain allegations, and the detention of the party members does not by itself establish whether any irregularities occurred.
YouTuber Dhruv Rathee Also Detained
In a separate development earlier on Saturday, YouTuber Dhruv Rathee was reportedly detained by Gurugram Police from his residence in Gurugram ahead of the planned protest in the national capital.
Rathee had attended a protest against the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Bengaluru on Thursday. His reported detention came amid heightened attention surrounding demonstrations against the electoral roll revision process and the planned gathering at Jantar Mantar.
The reported detentions of the CJP members and Rathee occurred as authorities prepared for the proposed demonstration in Delhi. Police had tightened security arrangements at several locations across the national capital in anticipation of the protest.
Security Tightened Across Delhi
Delhi Police remained on high alert ahead of the CJP’s proposed demonstration at Jantar Mantar. Security measures were strengthened across the city, with additional checks and surveillance introduced at sensitive locations.
Vehicles were being checked at Delhi’s borders as part of the security arrangements. Police personnel were also equipped with body cameras to record incidents and monitor developments during the demonstration.
Security was further strengthened around the residences of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi. The enhanced arrangements came amid concerns about possible disruptions associated with the planned protest.
Authorities also deployed drone surveillance at key locations to monitor the situation from above. In addition, several Metro stations, including Supreme Court and Mandi House, were reported closed as part of the security measures linked to the planned demonstration.
The restrictions and heightened security underscored the administration’s preparations to manage the situation in the national capital. Vehicle inspections, surveillance operations and security deployments were aimed at monitoring movement and preventing untoward incidents.
The proposed Jantar Mantar protest was expected to draw attention to the controversy surrounding the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. However, the detentions of Dipke, Das and Ranka at IGI Airport took place before the demonstration could proceed as planned.
| Also Read: Dhruv Rathee Detained in Gurugram Ahead of Delhi CJP Protest |
The developments also placed the reported detention of Dhruv Rathee in the spotlight, given his participation in an earlier protest against the SIR process in Bengaluru.
As security arrangements remained in place across Delhi, the detentions and the planned demonstration highlighted the continuing dispute over electoral roll revision and the political response to the process. Further details regarding the circumstances and legal grounds of the reported detentions were not provided in the information available at the time of reporting.
