Delhi police detain youth-led party's leaders at Jantar Mantar after protest status removed

Police in New Delhi detained leaders of the youth-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on Tuesday, 13 October 2026. The leaders had climbed police barricades to enter Jantar Mantar.

Those detained included CJP leaders Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das. Al Jazeera and Daily Sabah report that CJP leader Ajinkya Shinde was also detained. Others were detained with them. The protesters waved or held the Indian flag and chanted slogans. Police had barricaded and guarded the site beforehand. CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke posted video of the entry online.

On Monday, 12 October, authorities removed Jantar Mantar's designation as an official protest site. They identified three alternative venues. The reports reviewed by Vocemundi do not identify these venues or give official reasons for the change.

The protesters are demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over a revision of voter rolls. CJP supporters and opposition parties have protested in Delhi for several days. Police detained thousands of people over the weekend after authorities moved to block a planned CJP demonstration at Jantar Mantar. CJP leaders were among those detained then. A protest march was held in Delhi on Monday.

According to Al Jazeera, about 20 CJP volunteers entered the site on Tuesday. The video posted by Dipke shows about a dozen jumping a gate and barricades. According to the BBC, it was not immediately clear where police took the detainees. The BBC reports that Ranka later appeared on an Instagram live broadcast from a police bus. Other detainees with him said they would not back down.

The reports do not establish whether the detainees have been released or charged. Daily Sabah and SCMP use "arrested" in places; all four outlets say "detained". The reports do not include a statement from the Delhi Police or the home ministry on Tuesday's detentions. Al Jazeera says the Delhi Police did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

According to the BBC, the voter revision has removed tens of millions of names from electoral rolls. The reports do not include independent verification of this figure. The BBC also reports that the Congress party petitioned the Supreme Court on Monday to challenge the exercise.

What is disputed

The BBC says the federal home ministry announced the site's removal. Al Jazeera, Daily Sabah and SCMP say the Delhi Police announced it. The BBC cites an Indian Express report that Kumar disregarded concerns from the two other election commissioners. The Election Commission says its decisions were unanimous.

What each side says

Opposition parties and critics say the revision benefits Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and risks excluding eligible voters. The BJP rejects this. The Election Commission denies favouring any party and says wrongly deleted voters can re-enrol.

The CJP says its members entered to "reclaim" the site. The BBC quoted Dipke as writing on X: "You cannot denotify the resistance." The BBC also cited an earlier post on X by Ranka linking the decision to the party's request to Delhi Police for a protest date.

According to Al Jazeera, Human Rights Watch Asia director Elaine Pearson said in a statement: "The Modi government should stop throwing young protesters in jail and instead engage with them to address concerns over the right to vote and fairness of elections."

According to Daily Sabah, Modi called India the "mother of democracy" at a business conference in New Delhi on Tuesday. He did not refer directly to the protests.

Analysis

The detentions highlight a tension between public order measures and the right to protest at a site long used for demonstrations. Much remains unclear, including who made the decision, why, and what happens to the detainees. These gaps make it hard to assess the official response. Possible developments include further confrontations if the CJP keeps targeting Jantar Mantar, or a shift to the alternative venues. The Congress petition could bring judicial scrutiny of the voter revision. The underlying dispute concerns whether eligible voters are being excluded. Each side's claims on that question have not been independently verified in the reports reviewed by Vocemundi.

Produced by the Vocemundi newsroom with AI assistance.