Delhi police detain Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke before banned protest
Abhijeet Dipke and two party colleagues were held on arrival at Delhi airport on Saturday. Authorities have banned the protest, deployed more than 20,000 police and suspended mobile internet in central New Delhi.
Arrests at Delhi airport
Police in Delhi detained Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), on Saturday after his flight from the financial capital Mumbai landed in the capital. According to the party, co-leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were detained from the same flight upon landing. DW reports that the CJP's legal aid head, Ratna Singh, was also detained. TV channels reported that officers met Dipke at the airport and asked him to call off the protest, which authorities had banned. Dipke streamed the moment live on Instagram and asked officers to wait until the passengers had left the aircraft.
Come and arrest us, we are not afraid.
- More than 20,000 police personnel deployed in Delhi, according to Press Trust of India
- More than 400 people suspected of taking part in the mobilisation arrested, according to local media
- Dipke, Das and Ranka detained after their flight from Mumbai lands in Delhi
- Police close 45 metro station entrances and suspend mobile internet for 24 hours in central Delhi
A protest banned before it began
The CJP had called a protest at Jantar Mantar, in central Delhi, to demand the resignation of the chief of the Election Commission, Gyanesh Kumar. The gathering has no police authorisation. Italian news agency AGI reports that more than 400 people suspected of taking part were arrested overnight in several parts of the capital, according to local media. Police closed the entrances to 45 metro stations on Saturday and suspended mobile internet for 24 hours in part of central New Delhi. Indian Railways cancelled 245 trains to and from the capital, including long-distance services. Press Trust of India, cited by RFI, reported that more than 20,000 police personnel were deployed from Friday evening.
- Police deployed (from Friday evening)
- 20000
- Arrested overnight (more than)
- 400
- Metro station entrances closed
- 45
- Trains cancelled
- 245
The allegations behind the movement
The movement accuses Kumar of being responsible for removing millions of names from the electoral rolls during a special revision of the lists. RFI puts the number of removed voters at 130 million and describes the removal as contested. The Indian Express broke the story on 23 September, according to RFI. Authorities' measures also reached the Supreme Court, which had asked that widespread disruption of metro and rail services be avoided and that the response be proportionate to the situation on the ground, AGI reports. Constitutional lawyer Prashant Bhushan told RFI that the mobilisation is exceptional.
We had not seen protests of this scale since Modi came to power.
Background on the movement
BBC reports that Dipke, 30, had just completed a master's degree at Boston University when he posted 'What if all cockroaches come together?' on X in May. The post followed remarks by India's chief justice comparing some unemployed young people to cockroaches, which he later said had been misinterpreted. The post went viral and the Cockroach Janta Party was born. In July, Dipke watched from the stage as protesters celebrated the resignation of India's education minister. Before the movement, Dipke worked with the opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), BBC says.
Unclear whereabouts
BBC reported that the whereabouts of Dipke and his colleagues remained unclear and that police had not publicly explained the reasons for their detention. There are reports of many more people detained across Delhi and elsewhere as police try to prevent gatherings. The CJP says the protest will continue despite the arrests, according to AGI.
