Das, Ranka, Shinde under preventive arrest, to be produced before magistrate: Officials
Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders Ashutosh Ranka, Saurav Das and Ajinkya Shinde were placed under preventive arrest for allegedly entering Delhi’s Jantar Mantar area without authorisation, officials said Wednesday. They are likely to be produced before a magistrate, sources said.
The three were detained early Tuesday after allegedly crossing barricades and entering the protest site, which was recently denotified as an authorised venue for demonstrations. They reportedly raised slogans demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Police have registered a case against them on charges including trespassing, violating prohibitory orders, breaching a peace bond and obstructing a public servant from performing official duties, sources said.
The three are likely to be produced before the Special Court of the Executive Magistrate (SEM) on Wednesday morning, sources added.
Ranka and Das had signed a bond undertaking to maintain peace for one year after being detained during an earlier protest in the national capital on Saturday, officials said.
However, CJP legal team head Ratna Singh claimed the three had been arrested and were being held at Parliament Street police station.
In a post on X, Singh alleged that the leaders were brought to the police station in a private van at 3 a.m. and were not allowed to meet their lawyers until late at night.
“FYI, 24 hours timeline will end soon,” she wrote, adding that the three could be sent to judicial custody at Tihar Jail after being produced before the SEM.
“Despite these illegal actions, their spirits are high,” Singh added.
The detentions come amid heightened security in Delhi 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. Following the order, Jantar Mantar was denotified as a designated protest site.
The CJP has criticised the decision, arguing that moving demonstrations away from the political centre of the national capital would reduce the visibility of public dissent. (with inputs from PTI)
