Day two of Delhi’s biggest street confrontation in years began with handcuffs, not speeches. The Delhi Police on Sunday placed Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke and co-convenors Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka under preventive arrest, charging the trio under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, as the capital went back into lockdown for the party’s second straight attempt to reach Jantar Mantar.
The CJP leaders preventive arrest in Delhi marks a sharp escalation of a standoff that has already seen an estimated 7,000 people detained on Saturday, international concern from the UN Human Rights office, and a rare Sunday sitting of the Supreme Court. The three leaders were detained inside their aircraft shortly after it landed at Indira Gandhi International Airport from Mumbai on Saturday morning — and, unlike nearly everyone else picked up that day, they never walked free.
Dipke, Das and Ranka face preventive arrest, magistrate production
Delhi Police said on Sunday that the three CJP leaders had been placed under preventive arrest and would be produced before an executive magistrate later in the day, India TV News reported. The party’s legal affairs head, Ratna Singh, said on X that the production would take place at the Delhi Cantonment Police Station at 9 am on Sunday, and that she would be present along with other lawyers representing the party.
The trio has been charged under Section 126 (security for keeping the peace) and Section 170 (arrest to prevent the commission of cognizable offences) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 — the country’s new criminal procedure code — according to Delhi Police statements reported by India TV.
A video that went viral before the detention showed Dipke telling police officers that he and his colleagues were ready “to get arrested,” India TV reported. The party has alleged it received no information about the leaders’ whereabouts for hours after Saturday’s detention, and demanded their immediate release along with access to lawyers.
Everyone else released, the trio and Rathee held
The preventive arrest stands out precisely because it wasn’t extended to the thousands of others. Delhi Police released all of Saturday’s detainees — by most estimates around 7,000 people — except Dipke, Das, Ranka and YouTuber Dhruv Rathee, who was picked up from Gurugram on Saturday, the Hindustan Times reported. The releases began Saturday evening, with women and senior citizens freed first.
The detentions had swept up four former chief ministers — Arvind Kejriwal, Mamata Banerjee, Pinarayi Vijayan and Manik Sarkar — along with Tushar Gandhi, actor Imran Khan and hundreds of others in Mumbai, all of whom were later released. Banerjee, detained during a silent protest outside a Trinamool MP’s Delhi residence, told reporters that Rahul Gandhi had asked her to stay in the capital for Monday’s opposition march.
Delhi locks down again for Sunday’s march call
With its top leadership in custody, the CJP handed the movement to national organisation in-charge Ajinkya Shinde, who announced at a Saturday-evening press conference that protesters would attempt to reach Jantar Mantar again on Sunday and keep coming every day until Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar resigns.
“We will continue our agitation till Gyanesh Kumar resigns,” Shinde said, urging supporters to turn up in large numbers and protest wherever police stopped them. AISA president Neha Bora struck a more poetic note in a late-night post on X: “Let a hundred Jantar Mantars bloom!”
The police answer was a second day of fortress Delhi. Jantar Mantar stayed sealed, with barricades at the capital’s borders and traffic diversions at 30 points from 6 am, the Hindustan Times reported. More than 40,000 security personnel were deployed on Saturday — including 26,000 reinforcements, the largest such deployment in Delhi since February 2020 — and they remained in place for Sunday. At the borders with Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, police kept two tiers of barricades at Chilla, Ghazipur, Apsara and Singhu.
Restrictions on gatherings, processions and road blockades under Section 163 of the BNSS remain in force until further orders. Delhi Traffic Police warned of disruptions across New Delhi and Central Delhi and advised commuters heading to railway stations, bus terminals and the airport to allow extra travel time.
Metro and trains reopen as Supreme Court hearing looms
One pressure point eased overnight. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation said all station entry and exit gates had reopened by around 10 pm on Saturday, and Northern Railway announced trains would run on their normal schedule on Sunday. Neither the DMRC nor the excise department had received any request to close metro stations or liquor shops on Sunday as of Saturday evening.
The reversal matters because it sits at the heart of Sunday’s rare special sitting of the Supreme Court. A bench of Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana will hear a contempt plea alleging authorities defied the court’s October 9 order, which said there must be no “complete prohibition” of metro and train movement into Delhi — regulation, not a shutdown. Saturday’s 45-station closure and train cancellations went ahead anyway.
What the CJP is demanding
The protest is aimed squarely at the Election Commission. The CJP wants CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls — including the party’s claim of deletion and manipulation of 13 crore votes — allegations the Election Commission has rejected. The demand has pulled in the Congress, AAP, the Left and the INDIA bloc, which has announced its own march to the Supreme Court on Monday to press for faster hearings in cases related to the SIR and the Election Commission.
Reactions: Gandhi’s warning, Kharge’s jibe, BJP’s dismissal
The political temperature kept rising overnight. Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, said the opposition would not retreat: even if police arrested “all the leaders” and “all the young people,” he said, “we are surrounding you, and we are not going to back down,” the Hindustan Times reported. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge accused the government of turning the “Mother of Democracy” into a “Muzzled Democracy.”
The BJP dismissed the whole exercise. Party MP Ravi Shankar Prasad called Saturday’s protest a “flop show” and alleged that INDIA bloc leaders were backing the agitation to stir unrest, India TV reported. Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta has said the capital “will not be held hostage.”
Why it matters
Preventive arrest is a police tool, but it is also a political signal: the state has decided the CJP’s leadership, not its foot soldiers, is the problem to be neutralised. By keeping Dipke, Das and Ranka in custody while freeing thousands, Delhi Police drew a clear line — and dared the movement to cross it again on Sunday morning.
That dare is being taken up. With Shinde leading, student groups expanding the protests beyond Delhi, and the INDIA bloc planning its own Monday march, the confrontation is widening even as the Supreme Court hearing puts the police’s own tactics on trial. What started as a demand about voter rolls has become a test of how far a government can go to keep its capital protest-free.
What happens next
Sunday’s two clocks are ticking in parallel: the CJP’s 10 am march toward Jantar Mantar, and the Supreme Court’s special hearing on the contempt plea over the transit shutdown. The magistrate’s proceedings for the three arrested leaders will decide whether the preventive custody continues. Activist Sonam Wangchuk has threatened a hunger strike or padyatra if the detainees aren’t freed by Sunday, and the INDIA bloc marches to the Supreme Court on Monday with Mamata Banerjee in tow. Whatever the courts and the streets produce on Sunday will set the terms for the week ahead.
Key Takeaways
- Delhi Police placed CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke and co-convenors Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka under preventive arrest on Sunday; they are to be produced before an executive magistrate.
- The trio is charged under BNSS Sections 126 and 170 — provisions covering preventive action to keep the peace and prevent cognizable offences.
- Nearly all of Saturday’s estimated 7,000 detainees were released; only the three CJP leaders and YouTuber Dhruv Rathee remained in custody.
- The CJP, now led by Ajinkya Shinde, vowed to march to Jantar Mantar again on Sunday and every day until CEC Gyanesh Kumar resigns.
- Delhi stayed in lockdown: Jantar Mantar sealed, 30 traffic diversion points, 40,000 security personnel, and Section 163 BNSS restrictions in force.
- The Supreme Court holds a special Sunday hearing on the contempt plea over Saturday’s metro and train shutdown; the INDIA bloc marches to the court on Monday.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was placed under preventive arrest in Delhi on Sunday?
Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke and co-convenors Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were placed under preventive arrest by Delhi Police on Sunday, October 11. The trio had been detained inside their aircraft on landing at Delhi airport from Mumbai on Saturday morning, and were the only leaders not released along with the rest of the detainees.
What are the charges against the CJP leaders?
Delhi Police charged them under Section 126 (security for keeping the peace) and Section 170 (arrest to prevent the commission of cognizable offences) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023. These are preventive provisions that allow custody ahead of an anticipated breach of peace, and the trio is to be produced before an executive magistrate.
Is the CJP protest continuing on Sunday?
Yes. With its top leadership detained, the CJP’s national organisation in-charge Ajinkya Shinde announced protesters would attempt to reach Jantar Mantar again on Sunday and continue daily until CEC Gyanesh Kumar resigns over alleged electoral-roll irregularities. Student groups including the SFI have signalled protests will spread to other parts of the country.
How tight is security in Delhi on Sunday?
Very. Jantar Mantar remains sealed, traffic is being diverted at 30 points from 6 am, borders with Haryana and Uttar Pradesh have two tiers of barricades at Chilla, Ghazipur, Apsara and Singhu, and restrictions under Section 163 of the BNSS continue. More than 40,000 security personnel were deployed on Saturday — the largest Delhi deployment since February 2020.
Are Delhi Metro and trains running normally on Sunday?
Yes. The DMRC said all station entry and exit gates reopened by around 10 pm on Saturday, and Northern Railway said trains would run on their normal Sunday schedule. That is a marked reversal from Saturday, when 45 metro stations were shut and Delhi-bound trains were cancelled — the shutdown at the centre of Sunday’s Supreme Court contempt hearing.
What happens at the Supreme Court on Sunday and Monday?
Sunday’s special bench of Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana hears the contempt plea alleging authorities defied the court’s October 9 order barring a “complete prohibition” of metro and train movement. On Monday, the INDIA bloc marches to the Supreme Court to press for faster hearings in cases linked to the SIR and the Election Commission.
Related on GlobalDeskNews: CJP Plans Sunday Jantar Mantar March as Detentions Top 7,000 • India Slams UN Remarks on Delhi CJP Protest Detentions • 2,000 Detained as CJP Delhi Protest Turns Violent
Sources
- India TV News — “CJP Protest 2.0: Abhijeet Dipke, Saurav Das, Ashutosh Ranka placed under preventive arrest, says Delhi Police” — indiatvnews.com
- Hindustan Times — “CJP protest LIVE: CJP vows fresh protest at Jantar Mantar today as Dipke, Saurav Das remain detained” — hindustantimes.com
- ABP Live — “CJP’s Dipke, Saurav Das, Ranka Under Preventive Arrest As Fresh Protests To Begin At 10 AM” — news.abplive.com
By GlobalDeskNews Staff | October 11, 2026