New Delhi, India – Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were remanded to five days in judicial custody on Wednesday, a day after they were detained along with 12 other party members for allegedly entering Jantar Mantar, which the Delhi Police de-notified as a designated protest site on Monday. The police registered two first information reports (FIRs) against the 14 members over allegations of trespass, disobedience of official orders, and obstruction of police personnel on duty.
According to the police, the 14 CJP members, including Das, Ranka, and Ajinkya Shinde, reached Jantar Mantar during the morning hours on October 13 by passing through private premises. Police personnel deployed at the site attempted to stop them, but the group allegedly obstructed the personnel in the discharge of their official duties. The first FIR was registered at the Connaught Place police station under Sections 223(a), 332, and 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). A second FIR was registered at the Parliament Street police station under Sections 221, 115(2), 132, 121(1), and 3(5) of the BNS.
The three were produced before a Special Executive Magistrate, where proceedings were initiated under Sections 126 and 170 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). The court remanded Das and Ranka to five days of judicial custody, while Shinde was directed to maintain peace and good behaviour for six months after furnishing a personal bond and surety of ₹5,000.
Reacting to the development, CJP founder Abhijit Dipke accused the Narendra Modi government of imposing an “unofficial Emergency.” “I want to tell Narendra Modi that if you want to impose an emergency in the country, do it officially. Why are you running an unofficial emergency where people are sent to five days of detention just for waving the national flag at Jantar Mantar?” he said. “When did waving national flag become a crime? Such things did not happen even during the Emergency.”
Taking to X, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said, “Waving the Tricolour at Jantar Mantar in a peaceful protest is not a crime. Jailing youth for it is an act of cowardice.” He added, “Students. Youth. Journalists. The INDIA bloc. Different banners, one cause. All protests are one: citizens demanding their constitutional right. Jantar Mantar belongs to the people of India. We will reclaim it.”
The detentions came a day after the Delhi Police de-notified Jantar Mantar as a designated venue for protests and demonstrations, naming Ramlila Ground, Burari Ground, and the CBD Ground as alternative sites. The CJP and other groups have been organising protests demanding the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the scrapping of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
