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Indian police have detained Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the youth-led Cockroach Janta Party, ahead of a protest in New Delhi demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over disputed voter-list revisions.
Indian police detained Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the youth-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), on Friday ahead of a planned protest in New Delhi calling for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The demonstration was organised in support of two CJP leaders who were detained and jailed for five days earlier in the week after protesting at a site where demonstrations were prohibited.
The CJP, opposition groups and student organisations have staged repeated demonstrations this month over revisions to India’s voter registers. Critics allege that the changes could disadvantage supporters of opposition parties, while the Election Commission has denied political bias and said voters wrongly removed from the lists can re-enrol.
According to the Election Commission, more than 130 million names were removed from voter lists during the revision. The commission attributed the deletions to factors including deaths, relocation and voters who could not be traced.
Footage shared on the CJP’s Instagram account showed police officers stopping Dipke as he headed towards the street before taking him away in a police vehicle. The group later announced his detention on social media.
Student activist Neha Bora was also reportedly detained while attempting to reach Connaught Place, where demonstrators had planned to gather and wave the national flag. Authorities had increased security in the area, and civic officials closed the park ahead of the rally.
Protests were also reported in Mumbai, Bengaluru and Patna, with some demonstrators confronting police barricades.
India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has accused opposition groups of using young people for political purposes. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh described the demonstrations as an attempt by the opposition Congress party to seize power.
Opposition parties, however, maintain that the voter-list revisions could disproportionately affect Muslims and other minority communities. Both the Election Commission and the BJP have rejected allegations that the process was designed to favour the ruling party.
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