Delhi court remands Cockroach Janta Party leaders to five days custody after Jantar Mantar protest

A Delhi court on Wednesday remanded Cockroach Janta Party spokespeople Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka to five days of judicial custody after police detained them for entering the restricted area at Jantar Mantar during protests against the Election Commission's special intensive revision of electoral rolls.

The two leaders had been placed under preventive arrest earlier. Opposition figures, including Rahul Gandhi, have publicly supported the detainees and criticised the police action. The Cockroach Janta Party, a relatively new formation focused on electoral integrity issues, has organised several demonstrations in recent weeks over allegations of mass voter deletions and irregularities in the revision process.

Police said the activists trespassed into a designated restricted zone and obstructed duties. Party representatives described the arrests as an attempt to stifle legitimate protest. The case has drawn attention from civil-society groups monitoring the special intensive revision exercise, which the Election Commission has defended as necessary to clean the rolls ahead of future elections.

The protests form part of a wider mobilisation that has included student groups and opposition parties. Earlier in the week, authorities had imposed internet restrictions in parts of Delhi in connection with the demonstrations. The Supreme Court is also seized of related petitions concerning the revision process and the treatment of voters whose names have been marked for deletion.

The five-day custody order keeps the two spokespeople in Tihar Jail while police complete initial inquiries. Further hearings will determine whether the detention is extended or the accused are released on bail. The episode has intensified debate over the balance between maintaining order at protest sites and the right to demonstrate against electoral administration decisions.