Indian Court Orders Five-Day Jail Term for ‘Cockroach’ Movement Leaders
A New Delhi court has ordered a five-day jail detention for leaders of the youth-led Cockroach Janta Party following a protest over voter-roll revisions.
POLICY WIRE — New Delhi, India — An Indian court has mandated a five-day jail term for two prominent leaders of the youth-driven Cockroach Janta Party (CJP). The detention follows an incident on Tuesday where the activists breached barricades to access a historic protest site in central Delhi.
The movement’s founder, Abhijeet Dipke, confirmed the court’s decision on Wednesday. The leaders were apprehended after entering the restricted area and chanting slogans calling for the resignation of the election commissioner.
The demonstration is part of a broader campaign against a nationwide voter-roll overhaul. Critics and opposition parties argue that the revision process has improperly excluded more than 133 million names from draft rolls, potentially disenfranchising a significant portion of the electorate.
Police previously detained Dipke alongside senior leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka upon their arrival in Delhi on a flight from Mumbai. While some leaders were released by a New Delhi court on Sunday following an earlier crackdown, the latest judicial order confirms a five-day incarceration for two members due to their violation of a standing protest ban.
Reporting by Policy-Wire (PW)
