Fourteen members of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), including leaders Saurav Das, Ashutosh Ranka and Ajinkya Shinde, were detained by the Delhi Police on Tuesday (October 13, 2026) while attempting to enter Jantar Mantar, a day after the police de-notified the long-established protest site and designated three alternative venues for demonstrations.

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The New Delhi district police registered a first information report (FIR) against the detained individuals on charges including unlawful assembly and disobedience of an order promulgated by a public servant, and initiated an investigation, an official close to the development said.

The detentions came amid a widening dispute over access to designated protest venues in the capital, with activists criticising the decision to remove Jantar Mantar from the list of authorised sites as a move that could distance demonstrations from the political establishment and make it harder for citizens to press their demands.

Hours after the detention, CJP member Abhijit Dipke posted a video on X showing party members carrying the national flag near Jantar Mantar. “Cockroaches with the Tiranga sneaked into Jantar Mantar early this morning before they were picked up by Delhi Police,” the post said. It added: “You cannot denotify the resistance, Narender Modi.”

Entered through eateries: police

A senior Delhi Police officer told The Hindu that the protesters had entered the area through eateries and food stalls near the protest site.

“The shops serve as regular eating places for employees working in nearby offices and remain open and accessible to the public, except on days when major protest calls are made, such as October 10,” the officer said.

Cockroaches with the Tiranga sneaked into Jantar Mantar early this morning before they were picked up by Delhi Police. @AshutoshRanka, @SauravDassss, @AjinkyaCJP along with other team members have been detained. You cannot denotify the resistance, @narendramodi https://t.co/x7B40akCVO— Abhijeet Dipke (@abhijeet_dipke) October 13, 2026

Cockroaches with the Tiranga sneaked into Jantar Mantar early this morning before they were picked up by Delhi Police. @AshutoshRanka, @SauravDassss, @AjinkyaCJP along with other team members have been detained. You cannot denotify the resistance, @narendramodi https://t.co/x7B40akCVO

With Jantar Mantar no longer notified as an authorised protest venue, demonstrations there would be illegal, the officer said, adding that the group was detained and further action was under way.

The detentions follow a series of police restrictions and preventive measures surrounding protests called by the CJP and other groups over demands for the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the scrapping of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Two FIRs over INDIA bloc march

Separately, the Delhi Police registered at least two FIRs in connection with the INDIA bloc’s march through Central Delhi on Monday (October 12, 2026), citing the absence of permission for the demonstration and alleged damage to barricades and public property.

The FIRs were registered at the Barakhamba Road and Tilak Marg police stations.

The march came after two days of heightened police action against protesters over the weekend amid demonstrations demanding Mr. Kumar’s removal and the withdrawal of the SIR exercise.

Opposition leaders and supporters, including Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and CPI(M) leader M.A. Baby, marched along Barakhamba Road towards the Supreme Court.

Subsequently, 11 Opposition leaders moved the Supreme Court, challenging the Election Commission’s decisions relating to the SIR of electoral rolls.