Delhi Police transfers both cases against CJP leaders to Crime Branch
The October 20 transfer puts both cases against Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka with the Crime Branch as the leaders challenge an extension of their custody.
Delhi Police transferred a second case against Cockroach Janta Party leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka to the Crime Branch on October 20, putting both cases arising from protests in New Delhi under the same investigative unit, PTI reported. The leaders are also challenging an extension of their judicial custody.
Why the Crime Branch has both cases
Both cases against the leaders are now with the Crime Branch, according to PTI and The Times of India. The reports differ on which case was transferred first, so the sequence of the two transfers is unclear. The Times of India attributed its account of the transfers to sources.
The two cases were registered after CJP members protested at Connaught Place and Jantar Mantar on October 13, The Times of India reported, citing ANI. Police alleged that Das, Ranka, Ajinkya Shinde and 11 other party members entered the Jantar Mantar area through private premises. PTI reported that Jantar Mantar had been denotified as a designated protest site.
Police personnel at Jantar Mantar intervened and all 14 people were detained, according to PTI. Two first information reports, or FIRs, were subsequently registered. The allegations about the group’s entry are part of the police account of the October 13 events.
Das and Ranka challenge custody extension
A Special Executive Magistrate sent Das and Ranka to five days of judicial custody on October 14 for allegedly breaching peace bonds, PTI reported. Their custody was extended by two days on October 19. The custody proceedings concern the same two leaders whose cases were transferred to the Crime Branch.
Das and Ranka have approached the Delhi High Court to challenge the extension, The Times of India reported. Their lawyers argue that continued detention despite the submission of sureties violates their right to personal liberty. They are seeking to have the magistrate’s October 19 order set aside.
According to The Times of India, the lawyers say the magistrate rejected fresh sureties submitted on October 19 and asked the leaders to explain why a breach of peace should not be feared. The leaders sought an urgent High Court hearing while the court was closed for the Dussehra vacation; the matter was scheduled for Wednesday, October 21.
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Sources and context
- More trouble for CJP leaders: Another FIR against Saurav Das, Ashutosh Ranka transferred to Crime BranchThe Times of India
- Delhi Police transfers second case against Das, Ranka to Crime BranchPTI, published by The Hindu
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.