Abhijeet Dipke, the founder of India's "cockroach" protest movement, has been detained in Delhi ahead of a planned march in the capital. His detention follows a police warning against holding the march, with thousands of security personnel deployed across the city.
Dipke's youth-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) is demanding the resignation of India's election chief, Gyanesh Kumar, over allegations of voter list manipulation. The Election Commission denies these charges. Police had served Dipke with a notice warning against holding the march without permission.
The CJP had initially asked supporters to gather at a park in Connaught Place, a commercial district in Delhi. Authorities closed Central Park for two days, citing "administrative reasons." The CJP then urged supporters to enter Connaught Place in groups of fewer than five, unfurl the Indian flag, take a photograph, and leave. Around 200-300 people gathered near Central Park, waving flags and shouting slogans, but were prevented from entering by police. Some young protesters were detained.
This marks the second time Dipke has been detained in less than a week; he was also detained last Saturday before a planned demonstration. Two other CJP leaders, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, were later jailed for five days after entering Jantar Mantar, a protest site recently declared off-limits.