New Delhi, Oct 14 (PTI) Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders Ashutosh Ranka, Saurav Das and Ajinkya Shinde have been put under preventive arrest for allegedly entering the Jantar Mantar area without authorisation, and are likely to be produced before magistrate, officials said on Wednesday.
The three were detained early Tuesday after they allegedly breached barricades and entered the protest site, which was recently denotified as a designated venue for demonstrations, and raised slogans demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation.
Police have registered a case against them on charges including trespassing, violation of prohibitory orders, breach of a peace bond and obstructing a public servant from discharging official duties, sources said.
The three are likely to be produced before the Special Court of the Executive Magistrate (SEM) in the morning, sources said.
Ranka and Das had signed a bond to maintain peace for a year after they were detained on Saturday during a previous protest in the national capital, officials said.
However, CJP’s legal team head Ratna Singh claimed they were arrested and were being held at Parliament Street Police Station.
On X, she alleged that they were brought to the police station in a private van at 3 am, and were not allowed to meet their lawyers till late at night.
“FYI, 24 hours timeline will end soon,” she said, adding that the three could be sent to judicial custody in Tihar Jail after being produced before the SEM.
“Despite these illegal actions, their spirits are high,” Singh added.
The arrests come amid heightened security in the national capital following a series of protests by the CJP and other organisations against alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
On October 11, Delhi Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar issued an order designating Ramlila Maidan, Burari Ground and CBD Ground as venues for protests and demonstrations, following which Jantar Mantar was denotified as a designated protest site.
The CJP has criticised the move, arguing that shifting demonstrations away from the political centre of the national capital would weaken the visibility of public dissent. PTI SSJ AO KSI
KSI
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