Abhijeet Dipke, Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das were detained after arriving from Mumbai ahead of the Jantar Mantar protest against CEC Gyanesh Kumar, as preventive police action spread across several states.
BY PC Bureau
NEW DELHI, October 10: The unprecedented crackdown on the Cockroach Janata Party’s (CJP) planned protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar escalated on Saturday, with party founder Abhijeet Dipke and fellow leaders Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das detained at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport after arriving from Mumbai, while YouTuber Dhruv Rathee was taken into custody earlier in the morning from his Gurugram residence.
The trio was detained inside the aircraft itself after it landed at Terminal 3 of Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport. A defiant Dipke told the police that he was prepared to be arrested but would not surrender his right to protest.
“I’m here to be arrested,” he said., “I’m not scared of you people,” Dipke said.
There was a bitter altercation inside the aircraft after Dipke confronted the police officers, questioning how they could enter an aircraft to detain them.
“Even during the Emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi, this did not happen. It shows how scared Narendra Modi is of the country’s youth,” he said, raising the slogans “Inquilab Zindabad” and “Bharat Mata Ki Jai”.
The detentions came hours before the CJP’s proposed demonstration at Jantar Mantar, where the party planned to demand Kumar’s resignation over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Delhi Police had denied permission for the gathering, citing law-and-order concerns, public safety and previous incidents. The action against the organisers and their supporters has intensified the dispute over the administration’s handling of a protest centred on electoral transparency and accountability.
The three CJP leaders had publicly announced their travel plans and said they intended to lead the demonstration. They had also declared that they were prepared to face arrest, including under stringent preventive laws, rather than abandon the protest.
Police had tightened security at Terminal 3 ahead of their expected arrival between 10.15 am and 10.30 am. The circumstances of their detention, including the precise legal grounds invoked, were not immediately clear.
Dhruv Rathee detained before travelling to Delhi
Rathee, who had publicly backed the protest and criticised the security restrictions imposed in the capital, was detained from his family’s residence in Gurugram’s Sector 56 earlier on Saturday.
Reports citing police sources said around 50 personnel had assembled outside the residence late on Friday night. Officers reportedly entered the house at approximately 7.48 am after Rathee’s mother opened the door and took him into custody.
Hindustan Times reported that Gurugram Police detained him after he refused instructions not to proceed to Delhi. Other media outlets, including News18, also reported the detention. An official statement detailing the grounds for the action was not immediately available.
Rathee had joined Dipke and actor-activist Prakash Raj at a CJP-linked protest in Bengaluru on October 8. He subsequently urged people to attend the Delhi demonstration and questioned what he described as the lack of transparency and accountability in the Election Commission’s handling of the SIR exercise.
He had also criticised the extensive security arrangements in Delhi, describing the restrictions as resembling an “almost lockdown”.
🚨 ABHIJEET DIPKE, SAURAV DAS AND ASHUTOSH RANKA DETAINED FROM INSIDE THEIR FLIGHT 🚨
Shame on you @narendramodi @AmitShah https://t.co/hXl6bzh53i
— Cockroach Janta Party – CJP (@Cockroachisback) October 10, 2026
Tens of thousands of personnel deployed
The detentions formed part of a wider security operation across Delhi and neighbouring areas. Reports put the deployment of police and Central Armed Police Forces at tens of thousands, with some estimates placing the number of central force personnel alone at around 26,000.
Barricades, checkpoints, surveillance cameras and drones were deployed as authorities prepared to prevent demonstrators from assembling without permission. Police also intensified checks on people travelling towards the capital.
Metro services were affected by restrictions at key stations, while train cancellations and disruptions were reported amid efforts to intercept groups travelling to Delhi for the protest. The restrictions prompted concerns about their impact on ordinary commuters and residents.
Police maintained that the arrangements were necessary to prevent disorder and protect public safety. The CJP and its supporters, however, described the measures as an attempt to prevent a political mobilisation and suppress dissent.
READ: Dhruv Rathee Taken into Custody as Delhi Mounts Unprecedented Crackdown Ahead of CJP Protest
Supporters intercepted across states
The preventive operation extended beyond the capital, according to accounts from organisers and activists. The CJP and allied groups reported that supporters travelling from several states had been intercepted, detained or prevented from continuing their journeys.
Among the reported incidents were claims that students and activists travelling from Pune were forced to leave the Goa Express at Itarsi in Madhya Pradesh, where police and Railway Protection Force personnel allegedly detained them. Other groups travelling from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh were reportedly intercepted at railway stations, including Bhopal and Gwalior.
Activists also alleged police action against supporters in West Bengal and Rajasthan. The scale of these operations and the total number of people detained nationwide could not be independently established from the available reports.
By mid-morning, reports indicated that more than 200 people had been detained near Jantar Mantar and other locations in Delhi. CJP leader Ratna Singh was among those reported to have been taken into custody.
The party’s claims of mass preventive detention across the country require independent verification, and authorities have not provided a consolidated public figure covering all states.
Protest centres on electoral-roll revision
The CJP has made the SIR exercise the focus of its latest campaign, alleging that the revision of electoral rolls lacks transparency and risks wrongful deletion of eligible voters. It is demanding Kumar’s resignation and greater accountability from the Election Commission.
The movement emerged as a satirical online platform before expanding into street protests on public issues, including examination-related controversies and now electoral-roll revision. Dipke and other organisers have sought to mobilise young people through social media, presenting the campaign as a demand for institutional accountability.
Some Opposition leaders and political groups have expressed support for the protest or indicated their intention to participate. The allegations against the Election Commission remain contested and should be distinguished from established findings.
The CJP has described the police action as a crackdown on peaceful dissent and invoked non-violent resistance in response. Authorities have pointed to the absence of permission for the gathering and the need to prevent a breach of peace.
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