CJP vows to continue agitation, alleges leaders were ‘kidnapped’ from flight

The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on Sunday vowed to continue its agitation demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, with its leaders accusing the Delhi Police of detaining them illegally and alleging that their phones were seized without proper documentation.

Addressing a press conference after their release, CJP leaders Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das said the detention of the party’s top leadership would not deter them from pursuing their campaign.

Ranka alleged that CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke, Das and he had been “kidnapped” from their flight after it landed in Delhi ahead of the party’s planned protest at Jantar Mantar on Saturday.

Ranka also accused the police of insensitivity, alleging that cameras and microphones were kept on when Dipke was informed of his grandmother’s death.

Das, meanwhile, claimed that their phones had been seized without seizure memos, raising concerns that the devices could have been accessed or tampered with.

He accused the government of suppressing dissent and said the party would continue to mobilise supporters against Kumar, whom it has accused of presiding over an electoral process that requires greater accountability.

The press conference came a day after Delhi Police detained several CJP leaders and other people ahead of the planned demonstration demanding Kumar’s resignation over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

The detentions came amid heavy security deployment and restrictions in parts of the national capital. The party has maintained that the action was aimed at preventing its supporters from assembling for the protest.

The allegations of illegal detention, mistreatment and seizure of phones were made by the CJP leaders at the press conference.

Meanwhile, AISA president Neha Bora condemned the Delhi Police crackdown on protesters demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation, saying “the fight for democracy continues”.

Earlier today, she was detained again by Delhi Police on Sunday during protests demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation over alleged irregularities in electoral rolls.