'Cockroach' group leaders among hundreds detained in Delhi protest

ByMatt Spivey and Geeta Pandey.

Key points

• It has additionally demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over allegations of manipulating voters' lists – which the Election Commission has denied.
• Hundreds of protesters have reportedly been detained in Delhi during the latest demonstration by the Gen-Z led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) over electoral reforms.
• He and and two other leaders, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, were detained on their flight from Mumbai on Saturday.
• The group stemmed from a joke created by Dipke in response to a remark by India's Chief Justice Surya Kant.
• Delhi Police has not commented on the detentions, but had refused permission for the protest to take place at Jantar Mantar, a landmark in the Indian capital.

Notably, the group remarked its founder Abhijeet Dipke. This person began the movement in May after India's Chief Justice likened some jobless young residents to "cockroaches", was detained with other leaders shortly after landing in Delhi.

Though the CJP insisted it would go ahead, tens of thousands of security personnel were deployed and roads barricaded ahead of the demonstration.

Notably, the group – who are not registered as a political party in India – are seeking electoral reforms just months before crucial state elections.

Under Kumar's leadership, India's election commission has undertaken a mammoth exercise to update electoral rolls nationwide – it remarked this was a routine exercise to weed out dead, duplicate or ineligible voters.

But in plenty of states, the exercise has been shrouded in controversy, with tens of thousands of residents alleging they have been wrongly removed.

For context, the CJP – and opposition parties – accuse Kumar of favouring Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the way the electoral rolls are being updated. The Election Commission and the BJP have denied this.

Before arriving in Delhi, the CJP's founder Dipke remarked: "If you think you can stop us by threatening us with jail or trying to intimidate us with the fear of imprisonment, you are mistaken."

Notably, the group asserted the three men have been taken to an undisclosed location. Delhi Police have not commented.

Ajinkya Shinde, the CJP's new designated leader while the others are in detention, published a video telling protesters that "if Delhi Police tries to stop you, wherever they stop you will become your Jantar Mantar".

Student activist Neha Bora. This person had additionally been detained by Delhi Police, called on demonstrators to "hold the line".

Meanwhile, the sizeable number of protesters anticipated to descend on Delhi were unable to obtain anywhere close to Jantar Mantar due to the heavy security presence and road blocks.

Announcements could be heard throughout the city, asking residents to co-operate with the police.

One protester, Sabika Muzaffar, informed the BBC she and her mother anticipated to be detained.

"On the way to the protest site, instead of reciting hymns and verses as we usually do, my mother and I were rote learning our lawyer's number, " she remarked.

According to She, showing up to protest was "her way of defending the country and its democracy".

Meanwhile, a few minutes after Muzaffar spoke to the BBC she was taken away by police.

For context, a number of trains to and from major Delhi stations had been cancelled and dozens of metro stations were closed from Friday night.

Buses packed with detained protesters were seen being driven away from the protest site.

For context, the CJP first emerged as a major protest movement during weeks of demonstrations over the summer demanding education reforms and the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

In practice, the group stemmed from a joke created by Dipke in response to a remark by India's Chief Justice Surya Kant. This person had likened jobless youngsters to "cockroaches". He afterwards stated the comments were misinterpreted.

Dipke, who previously worked with the opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), had just completed a master's degree at Boston University when he posted a question on X in May: "What if all cockroaches come together?"

For context, the post went viral, and the CJP was born. Momentum built around the movement which tapped into anger over over unemployment, exam paper leaks and administration accountability.

In July, Dipke watched from the stage as the five-week-long protest concluded in celebration after the resignation of India's education minister.

Taken together, the developments around ' Cockroach' group leaders among hundreds detained in Delhi protest point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.