Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka are remanded to five days of judicial custody after they were detained during a protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on October 13. Sources report that police produced the two leaders before a Special Executive Magistrate court, which ordered their custody. Several outlets also report that the leaders were expected to be lodged in Tihar Jail.
Police say the incident involved unauthorised entry and protest-related breaches, including alleged scaling of locked gates and barricades and the raising of slogans against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Multiple reports state that Delhi Police register an FIR with charges such as criminal trespass/trespassing, violation of prohibitory or public order, disobedience of orders, breach of a peace bond, and obstructing a public servant. Outlets also link the protest to the CJP’s ongoing campaign alleging irregularities in electoral rolls under the SIR exercise and to disputes over protest permissions, including claims that Jantar Mantar’s designated protest status had been withdrawn.
While the courts’ remand details are consistent across reports, the party and its founder criticise the arrests, describing them as punitive and alleging delays in access to lawyers, whereas other coverage focuses on the formal preventive arrest and the legal charges cited by police.
