Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka have been remanded to five days of judicial custody for allegedly entering Delhi’s Jantar Mantar protest site without authorisation, while Ajinkya Shinde has been allowed to walk out after signing a peace bond.
The three were produced before the court of the Special Executive Magistrate (SEM) on Wednesday. While Das and Ranka were sent to judicial custody for five days, Shinde was allowed to leave after signing the bond.
The CJP is set to hold a meeting to decide its future course of action following the detentions, amid its protest over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and the denotification of Jantar Mantar as a designated protest site.
Delhi Police had registered a case against the three on charges including trespassing, violating prohibitory orders, breaching a peace bond and obstructing a public servant from discharging official duties, sources said.
Meanwhile, CJP co-founder Abhijeet Dipke shared a photograph of Shinde, Ranka and Das inside the Parliament Street police station in a post on X, saying their spirits remained unbroken despite the detention.
PEACE BOND SIGNED AFTER EARLIER DETENTION
Ranka and Das had signed bonds undertaking to maintain peace for a year after they were detained during a protest in Delhi on Saturday, officials said.
However, CJP legal team head Ratna Singh claimed that the three had been arrested and were being held at Parliament Street police station.
In a post on X, Singh alleged that they were brought to the police station in a private van at 3 am and were not allowed to meet their lawyers until late at night.
She said the 24-hour period was nearing its end and claimed the three could be sent to judicial custody at Tihar Jail after being produced before the SEM. “Despite these illegal actions, their spirits are high,” Singh wrote, alleging that the authorities had acted unlawfully.
JANTAR MANTAR DENOTIFIED AS PROTEST SITE
The detentions come amid heightened security in the national capital following protests by the CJP and other organisations over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and authorities denotifying Delhi's Jantar Mantar as a designated protest site.
On October 11, Delhi Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar issued an order designating Ramlila Maidan, Burari Ground and CBD Ground as venues for protests and demonstrations. The order effectively removed Jantar Mantar from the list of designated protest sites.
The CJP has criticised the decision, arguing that moving demonstrations away from the national capital’s political centre would reduce the visibility of public dissent.
Source: India Today