Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were sent to five-day judicial custody and lodged in Tihar Jail on Wednesday for allegedly violating their peace bonds and trespassing into Jantar Mantar, which was denotified as a protest area, police sources said.
Police sources said Das, Ranka, Ajinkya Shinde and 11 other members of the CJP reached Jantar Mantar on Tuesday morning by trespassing through private premises.
Notably, the trio were detained early Tuesday after allegedly breaching barricades and entering the protest site, which was recently denotified as a designated venue for demonstrations, and raising slogans demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) Sachin Sharma said all 14 CJP members were detained.
Police have registered two cases against them on charges including trespassing, violating prohibitory orders, breaching a peace bond and obstructing a public servant from discharging official duties, sources said.
One case was filed at Connaught Place police station under Sections 223A, 332 and 61(2). The other was registered at Parliament Street police station under Sections 221, 115(2), 132, 121(1) and 3(5).
The DCP said Das, Ranka, and Shinde were produced before the Special Executive Magistrate (SEM), where proceedings were initiated under Sections 126/170 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).
Sharma said the SEM court remanded Das and Ranka to five days of judicial custody, citing their repeated violations of the law and the serious apprehension that they would repeat such violations and instigate others if released on bail.
Shinde, however, was bound over to maintain peace and good behaviour for six months on a personal bond and surety of Rs 5,000.
Ranka and Das had signed a bond to maintain peace for a year after being detained on Saturday during an earlier protest in the national capital, officials said.
Reacting to the development, CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke slammed the Central government for crushing dissent.
In an X post, he said, "Ashu and Saurav have been sent to five days' judicial custody. Their fault? Unfurling the Tricolour at Jantar Mantar."
"Show some guts, @narendramodi. If you’re so determined to crush dissent, have the courage to officially declare an Emergency instead of hiding behind these cowardly tactics," he posted.
The arrests come amid heightened security in the national capital following a series of protests by the CJP and other organisations over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
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. Jantar Mantar was subsequently denotified as a designated protest site.
The CJP has criticised the move, arguing that shifting demonstrations away from the political centre of the national capital would weaken the visibility of public dissent.
