Delhi Police detained Abhijeet Dipke the founder of the youth-led "Cockroach" movement on Friday ahead of a planned rally in the capital’s central business district. The protest was called to demand the resignation of India’s Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar.
The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) joined by opposition groups and student organizations has spearheaded near-daily demonstrations following a major voter list revision. Critics allege the purge which removed over 130 million names, disproportionately targets Muslims and other minorities to benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The Election Commission denied any bias, citing deaths, relocations and untraceable addresses for the deletions.
Dipke called Friday’s demonstration at Connaught Place to support two CJP leaders jailed earlier this week. Live footage shared on CJP’s Instagram showed police confronting Dipke outside a residence before forcing him into a vehicle. Student activist Neha Bora and several supporters were also detained while attempting to reach the venue.
To prevent the gathering, authorities shut Central Park and deployed heavy security forces. Despite the crackdown of small demonstrations emerged in Connaught Place alongside parallel protests in Mumbai, Bengaluru and Patna.
The movement has become a significant political challenge for PM Modi’s administration following previous youth-led protests that forced the resignation of India's Education Minister over exam paper leaks. Senior government ministers have dismissed the demonstrations with accusing opposition parties of orchestrating anarchy.
