Cockroach Janta Party leaders freed on bail after Delhi protest detention

Cockroach Janta Party leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were released from jail on bail in Delhi on 21 October, a week after their detention at the barricaded Jantar Mantar protest site. A Special Executive Magistrate court accepted their sureties after they agreed not to call protests there while it remains removed from the city's designated protest-site list, The Hindu reported.

What the Delhi court required

The two also assured the court they would avoid activity that could breach the peace. Delhi Police had sought another three days of judicial custody, citing law-and-order concerns, while lawyers for Das and Ranka challenged their continued detention. The next hearing is scheduled for 23 October, according to The Hindu.

Why the leaders were protesting

Das and Ranka have called for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to resign. Critics accuse the Election Commission of changing voter rolls to benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party; both the commission and the BJP reject that allegation. The commission says its revision is intended to remove ineligible, deceased and duplicate entries, while critics warn eligible voters could be excluded, the BBC reported.

The Cockroach Janta Party is an unregistered political collective that first mobilised young people over leaked examination papers, according to the BBC. It has since shifted attention to the electoral roll revision. Jantar Mantar, a longstanding Delhi protest venue, was recently removed from the list of designated protest sites.

The Hindu reported that Delhi Police transferred two cases involving Das and Ranka to its Crime Branch on 20 October, citing their sensitive nature and the need for an impartial investigation. A petition by the leaders to the Delhi High Court was withdrawn after the court advised them to await the magistrate's decision and pursue an appeal or revision if needed.