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Delhi Police detained Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) chief spokesperson Saurabh Das and national spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka on Tuesday after they climbed over a locked gate to enter Jantar Mantar, Hindustan Times reported.
Ranka posted a video on his X account showing himself, Das and Ajinkya Shinde climbing over the locked gate and entering the protest site with the national flag. Police personnel subsequently stopped and detained them.
The three were part of a group of at least 10 people who went to Jantar Mantar to protest against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar. Some members of the group managed to enter the site carrying the national flag before police detained them all, a senior police officer said.
The protesters were heard chanting “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” and “Gyanesh Kumar इस्तफा दो” (Gyanesh Kumar, resign) in the video.
Das later said on X that they had been taken to Jaffarpur police station.
Soon after his detention, Das posted another video on Instagram, saying, “We have captured Jantar Mantar.” In the video, Ranka said they would ensure Kumar’s resignation from Jantar Mantar, regardless of the circumstances.
In another post, Das claimed they had reclaimed the protest site less than 24 hours after the government decided to withdraw its designation as a venue for demonstrations.
“Keep your hands off the people’s Jantar Mantar!” he wrote, adding that Kumar’s time was over.
The detentions came after India’s Union Home Ministry announced on Sunday that demonstrations and sit-ins would no longer be permitted at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi.
The ministry designated three alternative venues for protests: Ramlila Maidan in Old Delhi, the Burari grounds in north Delhi and the Central Business District (CBD) grounds in east Delhi.
CJP founder Abhijit Dipke wrote on X that some protesters had entered Jantar Mantar early in the morning carrying the national flag before Delhi Police detained them.
Following the detention of Das, Ranka and Shinde, Dipke said the authorities could not declare the protest movement cancelled or illegal.
