Delhi protest leaders detained ahead of rally

CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke and student leader Neha Bora were detained as police in the Indian capital tried to restrict a march demanding the election chief’s resignation Police detained Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke in the Indian capital New Delhi on Friday, hours before the start of a rally called by the youth-led movement demanding the resignation of the country’s election chief over disputed voter rolls.

The march was called after CJP leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were jailed for five days on Wednesday for allegedly entering Jantar Mantar, a central Delhi site recently removed from the list of approved protest venues in the Indian capital.

Dipke had urged supporters to gather with Indian flags at Connaught Place’s Central Park.

Another prominent activist and student leader, Neha Bora, was also detained near Jantar Mantar.

More than 25,000 police and paramilitary personnel were deployed across New Delhi and nearby areas, with barricades, surveillance cameras, and drones used to monitor the planned gathering.

The rally went ahead despite the detentions, with around 2,000 protesters gathering in and around Connaught Place holding the national flag, local media reported, citing police estimates.

How many will the Modi-Shah put under arrest? Abhijeet’s detention is gross violation of his rights.

Every arrest this government makes more youth will hit the streets! https://t.co/rb0vqyBkbR — Cockroach Janta Party - CJP (@Cockroachisback) October 16, 2026 The Indian capital has seen back-to-back protests in the last two weeks by the opposition parties and the satirical CJP movement demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation over a nationwide electoral-roll revision that has removed more than 130 million names.

Opposition groups allege that eligible voters have been excluded and that the exercise benefits Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The Election Commission and BJP deny the allegations.

The poll body says any wrongly excluded voters can seek reinstatement of their names in the rolls.

It is the second time Dipke has been detained as Indian authorities try to choke off the protests.

He was detained from a plane when he landed in Delhi on Saturday but was later released.

Read more ‘People have a right to seek answers’: Inside India’s unrest over the electoral process Video shared by the CJP on Friday showed Dipke leaving the residence of an opposition party spokesman, where he was staying, when police stopped him and took him away in a vehicle, Reuters reported.