CJP Leaders Abhijeet Dipke, Saurav Das, Ashutosh Ranka Preventively Detained; Fresh Protest Today

Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders Abhijeet Dipke, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka have been placed under preventive arrest under Sections 126 and 170 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), the party’s legal head, Ratna Singh, said.

The three leaders were taken into custody from inside an aircraft after it landed at Delhi airport on Saturday. According to an update shared by Singh, they are scheduled to be produced before an executive magistrate in Delhi Cantonment on Sunday.

Under the BNSS, preventive arrest and detention are subject to statutory safeguards, including limits on detention without judicial oversight.

The whereabouts of Dipke, Das and Ranka remain unknown. Delhi Police has not responded to requests for information about their location, Hindustan Times reported earlier. On Saturday evening, the CJP wrote to the Delhi Police commissioner seeking details of the leaders’ whereabouts and described their detention as “illegal”.

With the three leaders in custody, CJP member Ajinkya Shinde said protesters would march towards Jantar Mantar again on Sunday and continue their agitation until Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar resigns.

Over 7,000 Detained In Delhi Crackdown

Around 41,000 security personnel were deployed across Delhi on Saturday to prevent a planned demonstration demanding Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation. The operation resulted in the detention of more than 7,000 people and left large parts of the national capital deserted.

Four former chief ministers — Arvind Kejriwal, Mamata Banerjee, Pinarayi Vijayan and Manik Sarkar — were among those detained as police moved against students, lawyers and political leaders.

Despite the extensive security deployment, small groups of protesters gathered at several locations across the city throughout the day. Police personnel moved swiftly to disperse them.

CJP Announces Fresh Protest As Supreme Court Takes Up Pleas

The CJP has announced another day of protests on Sunday, even as the Supreme Court is scheduled to hold a special sitting to hear petitions challenging the crackdown.

The top court will hear a contempt plea alleging that authorities failed to comply with its Friday order against blanket restrictions on metro and railway services. It will also consider a petition challenging the preventive detention of Opposition leaders, including the four former chief ministers, and other individuals.

The Opposition, which brought central Delhi to a standstill last week, has also announced fresh demonstrations from Monday.

Police began detaining people travelling towards the protest site as early as 1 am on Saturday. Authorities had previously denied permission for the demonstration.

Security measures included spike strips on major roads, thousands of yellow barricades restricting traffic and loudspeakers broadcasting recorded police warnings against unlawful gatherings.