New Delhi [India], October 14 (ANI): Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the political satire movement Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), on Wednesday shared a photograph purportedly showing party activists Saurav Das, Ashutosh Ranka and Ajinkya Shinde inside the Parliament Street Police Station, saying that “nothing can break their spirits” amid their detention by the Delhi Police.
According to Delhi Police sources, the CJP activists were placed under preventive arrest for allegedly trespassing at Jantar Mantar on Tuesday.
In a post shared on X, Dipke wrote, “Cockroaches @AjinkyaCJP, @AshutoshRanka & @SauravDassss inside the parliament street police station. Nothing can break their spirits. What a cool picture @whattalawyer.”
https://x.com/abhijeet_dipke/status/2110121689644454016
The activists were arrested by the Delhi Police for allegedly trespassing at Jantar Mantar while attempting to enter the site, a day after authorities de-notified it as a designated protest location. According to police sources, the activists were placed under preventive arrest, and a case was registered in connection with the incident.
CJP leader Ratna Singh said the three activists would be produced before a court on Wednesday morning. She also alleged that they had been denied access to their lawyers for several hours.
In a post on X, Singh said, “Delhi Police arrests Saurav Das, Ashutosh Ranka, and Ajinkya Shinde at Parliament Street Police Station in today’s Jantar Mantar case. Trespass, bond violation, obstruction of public official’s duty, etc. They’ll be produced before the SCM Court in the morning. A possibility of Judicial Custody (JC) in the Tihar Jail is possible. They were not allowed to meet their lawyers till late at night. They were brought to Parliament Street PS at 3 AM in a private van. Despite these illegal actions, their spirits are high.”
In a subsequent update at 5:38 am, Singh said she had been informed that the activists were likely to be produced before the Special Executive Magistrate (SEM) at Mandir Marg Police Station within an hour. She added that the 24-hour period was about to end.
Earlier, Singh accused the Delhi Police of acting arbitrarily and following directions from higher authorities while dealing with the CJP activists. She alleged that they had been denied access to lawyers for nearly 24 hours and were not initially informed of the grounds for their detention.
“We are currently witnessing the Delhi Police operating according to a specific ‘rulebook’, one dictated by orders from above. They set the law aside to follow this rulebook. We saw how people who went to Jantar Mantar, simply to hoist the Tiranga, were detained. It has been nearly 24 hours, yet they have not been allowed to meet any lawyers, nor have they been initially informed of the grounds for their detention or arrest,” she said.
Singh further alleged that police personnel had denied access to both lawyers and volunteers despite repeated attempts to meet the detained party members.
“They denied access not only to ordinary volunteers but also to lawyers who had been present since morning. The SHOs and other officers on site kept insisting they were acting under orders from above. Who, then, is issuing these orders to the Delhi Police, orders that override the law itself?” she asked.
Accusing the authorities of restricting peaceful protests, Singh said designated protest sites were being de-notified, and people visiting public spaces were being detained for extended periods.
“We see criminals roaming freely, wandering the city, assaulting people, yet peaceful protesters are being stopped. Designated protest sites are being ‘de-notified,’ and people visiting these public spaces are being detained without explanation and held in custody for extended periods,” she said.
“The Delhi Police is being used as a puppet, and they are dealing very harshly with peaceful protesters, which is not right,” Singh added.
Calling the arrests illegal, Singh claimed that the alleged offences cited against the activists had not taken place and accused the authorities of using detention to discourage protests.
“Recent arrests are illegal; no information was provided, and none of the alleged offences cited in the charges actually took place,” she said.
“I believe this is merely a tactic to frame people, a way to intimidate them so they do not protest. But they are mistaken; they cannot stop protesters by invoking such sections or detaining them in this manner,” she added.
The developments come amid the CJP and Opposition parties’ ongoing agitation against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. (ANI)
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