CJP Leaders Das and Ranka Sent to Five-Day Judicial Custody in Tihar

A Special Executive Magistrate court in Delhi sent Cockroach Janta Party leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka to five days of judicial custody on 14 October. They were lodged in Tihar Jail. A third leader, Ajinkya Shinde, was released on a personal bond of 5,000 rupees with an undertaking to maintain peace for six months.

Delhi Police detained the three early on 13 October after they entered Jantar Mantar. The site had been denotified as a designated protest venue the previous day. Police said the activists breached barricades or entered through a private premise while carrying the national flag. They were produced before the magistrate at Mandir Marg the following morning.

Das and Ranka had signed bonds in the previous week after an earlier detention on 10 October. Those bonds required them to keep the peace for one year. Police treated the 13 October entry as a breach of those conditions along with trespass and obstruction of public servants. The magistrate cited repeated violations and the risk of further breaches if the two were released immediately.

The detentions form part of ongoing demonstrations by the Cockroach Janta Party and allied groups demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The groups allege irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. Earlier protests in the capital have drawn large police deployments and multiple detentions.

CJP legal head Ratna Singh said the three were taken to Parliament Street police station around 3 a.m. in a private van and were not permitted to meet lawyers until late that night. Their lawyer later confirmed the five-day remand for Das and Ranka. Police placed Das in Tihar Jail Number 2 and Ranka in Jail Number 4.

The case has drawn statements from opposition figures who described the police action as excessive. Delhi Police maintained that the entry violated prohibitory orders and the terms of existing bonds. The two leaders can apply for regular bail or challenge the remand order. The five-day period ends on 19 October unless extended.

Jantar Mantar's removal from the list of approved protest sites earlier in the week reduced the number of locations where large gatherings can be held without specific permission. The CJP action tested that restriction directly. Further hearings will determine whether additional charges are pursued beyond the preventive and bond-related provisions under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita.