‘CJP’ protest: New Delhi turned into fortress; leaders including Deepke arrested aboard aircraft
New Delhi: The Indian capital, New Delhi, was transformed into a fortress with stringent security arrangements ahead of a protest by the ‘Cockroach Janta Party’ (CJP) against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Delhi Police and the administration detained key CJP leaders—Abhijit Deepke, Sourav Das, and Ashutosh Ranka—from inside an Air India aircraft and moved them to an undisclosed location.
Prominent YouTuber Dhruv Rathee was detained in Gurugram, while hundreds of protesters attempting to reach the historic protest site at Jantar Mantar were also detained and taken to undisclosed locations. The central administrative zone was sealed off using barbed wire and multi-layered barricades on key routes.
More than 25,000 personnel from the Delhi Police, Border Security Force (BSF), Rapid Action Force (RAF), and paramilitary forces were deployed to prevent the demonstration.
The ‘CJP’ had called for the protest to oppose ‘irregularities’ in voter lists and changes to ‘Form 6’; however, the Delhi Police refused permission for the demonstration, citing the failure to submit a formal application on time, and imposed strict restrictions under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). Videos have surfaced showing a heated exchange during the detention of CJP leaders inside the aircraft; Abhijit Deepke can be heard telling police personnel that he “does not fear arrest and has come to fight for rights.”
In an official statement, the Cockroach Janta Party condemned the detention of its leaders aboard the plane as a “fascist and oppressive” move, terming it a grave violation of fundamental human rights and the freedom of movement.
Meanwhile, the police stated that they had already taken over 600 individuals into custody across 15 districts of the city to maintain law and order. Transport and commercial activities in the capital have been severely disrupted due to the protests. Civic authorities have closed the entry and exit points of 57 metro stations, and mobile internet services have been suspended for 24 hours in central areas of New Delhi.
More than 250 trains scheduled to arrive at the New Delhi and Hazrat Nizamuddin railway stations were cancelled. Traders in the commercial hub of Connaught Place announced the closure of the market due to security concerns, raising fears of economic losses amounting to crores of rupees.
