CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke detained off flight; Kejriwal, Mamata among scores held as Delhi crackdown widens

Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke and two other leaders were detained on board their flight soon after landing in Delhi on Saturday, 10 October, as police moved to stop the group’s protest at Jantar Mantar. By the afternoon, former chief ministers Arvind Kejriwal and Mamata Banerjee were among a long list of opposition leaders and activists also detained, according to The Hindu, DW and Business Today.

The exact number of people detained is not clear. The BBC reported that hundreds of protesters had been held, while DW said police had detained thousands. Delhi Police had not commented on the detentions, the BBC reported.

CJP leaders taken off flight

Dipke, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were detained on their flight from Mumbai, the BBC reported. Business Today said Dipke landed in the capital at 10.17 am, shortly before the protest was due to begin at 10.30 am. The CJP alleged the three had been taken to an undisclosed location and were being denied access to lawyers, DW reported.

In a video recorded on Friday night and shared by the CJP, Dipke anticipated his detention and named Ajinkya Shinde, the group’s national organisation in-charge, to lead the protest in his absence, according to DW.

If Delhi Police tries to stop you, wherever they stop you will become your Jantar Mantar.

Ajinkya Shinde, CJP, in a video on X, as quoted by the BBC and DW

DW reported that Dipke’s grandmother died on Saturday in her native village in Maharashtra, and that police had informed him of her death, citing ANI.

Opposition leaders detained

• Arvind Kejriwal: the AAP national convener was detained outside his house in Lodhi Estate while on his way to Jantar Mantar, The Hindu reported
• Mamata Banerjee: the Trinamool Congress chief was detained in the South Avenue area along with MPs Derek O’Brien and Dola Sen, Business Today reported, citing ANI
• Pinarayi Vijayan: the former Kerala chief minister was also among those detained, according to DW
• Activists: AISA’s Neha Bora, Dipankar Bhattacharya, Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav were detained near INA Market, Business Today reported, citing PTI

Reactions

Kejriwal called the clampdown “worse than the Emergency”, DW reported. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor criticised what he called a “war-like deployment” and the internet suspension, and called for the release of detainees.

BJP president Nitin Nabin accused opposition leaders of “attempting to incite tensions” and said the government would “deal strictly” with such attempts, DW reported.

The Supreme Court Bar Association asked Chief Justice of India Surya Kant to intervene after several lawyers were detained, and media outlets including Scroll and Newslaundry said their journalists were briefly held while covering the protest, according to DW.

Why they are protesting

The CJP and opposition parties accuse Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of manipulating the Special Intensive Revision of voter lists to favour the BJP. The Election Commission and the BJP deny this, and the commission says the exercise removes dead, duplicate or ineligible voters, the BBC reported.

This is a developing story. The Daily Rostrum reported on the Delhi lockdown earlier today.

Sources: BBC, DW, The Hindu, Business Today.