The Delhi Police on Monday transferred the case against Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka over alleged trespassing at Jantar Mantar to the Crime Branch for further investigation, shortly after their judicial custody was extended by two days, reported news agency PTI quoting police sources.
The case has been assigned to the Inter State Cell of the Crime Branch. The police had registered two FIRs in connection with the protest, one at Connaught Place police station and another at Parliament Street police station, invoking provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) relating to disobedience of a public servant’s order, trespass, obstruction of public servants, assault, causing hurt and criminal conspiracy.
Das and Ranka were sent to judicial custody on October 14 by a Special Executive Magistrate over allegations that they trespassed through private premises to reach Jantar Mantar, which had been denotified as a designated protest site a day earlier, and violated bonds requiring them to maintain peace.
Their associate Ajinkya Shinde was bound down to maintain peace and good behaviour for six months and released on a personal bond and a surety of Rs 5,000.
The trio and other CJP members were detained on October 13 after allegedly entering the Jantar Mantar area, raising slogans against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and unfurling the national flag. Delhi Police alleged that the protesters entered the denotified site through private premises and obstructed police personnel from discharging their duties.
On Monday, Das and Ranka were produced before a newly appointed Special Executive Magistrate at Mandir Marg police station, where their judicial custody was extended by two days after their surety was rejected over a reported mismatch in documents, their lawyers said.
CJP leaders have alleged that the proceedings were repeatedly delayed and that the rejection of sureties had kept the two activists in custody. The party’s head of legal affairs, Ratna Singh, said it would challenge the decision, while advocate Abhik Chimni, who represents both men, said the surety was rejected over a mismatch in photographs.
(With inputs from PTI and ANI)
