A local court in New Delhi on Sunday released three leaders of the satirical political group Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), directing them not to engage in any activity that could breach the peace for one year, sources said.
Abhijeet Dipke, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were brought before an executive magistrate in Delhi Cantonment after being taken into preventive custody earlier in the day. They had been detained on Saturday after arriving in Delhi by plane.
Their detention came on the second day of planned protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls.
More than 3,000 protesters, including politicians, were detained on Saturday and released later that night. Police imposed heavy security across the capital to prevent demonstrators from gathering at Jantar Mantar in central Delhi, forcing them to split into smaller groups at different locations.
YouTube activist Dhruv Rathee, a supporter of Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and a vocal critic of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, was among those released late Saturday.
The Supreme Court was expected to hold a special sitting on Sunday to hear a contempt petition over the blanket closure of Delhi Metro stations and train services on Saturday. Metro services resumed on Sunday morning amid a heavy security presence at station entrances and exits, with buses parked nearby to transport detained protesters.
On Friday, a bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana had directed that metro services should not be completely suspended ahead of Saturday’s planned protest.
CJP organisers have vowed to continue street demonstrations until accountability is established over alleged deletion and manipulation of 13 crore votes. They accused authorities of imposing an “undeclared emergency” in the capital to prevent people from assembling peacefully.
Founded by Dipke, a Boston University graduate who returned to India to lead protests over alleged NEET examination paper leaks, the CJP has received support from opposition parties across the country.
The BJP has accused the group of acting as an extension of opposition forces seeking to destabilise the country. BJP president Nitin Nabin alleged that opposition groups were attempting to harm India under the direction of “foreign forces”.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said everyone had the right to express dissent in a democracy but warned that the right did not extend to creating anarchy. He added that members of Generation Z might be temporarily misled but could not be diverted from the goal of nation-building.
Source: NDTV