CJP’s Ashutosh Ranka, Saurav Das detained after ‘sneaking into’ Jantar Mantar, says Abhijeet Dipke

Delhi Police detained Cockroach Janta Party leaders Ashutosh Ranka, Saurav Das and Ajinkya Shinde on Tuesday after they “sneaked into” Jantar Mantar, the political campaign’s founder Abhijeet Dipke said.

Several other members of the political campaign were also detained, Dipke said.

“You cannot denotify the resistance, @narendramodi,” Dipke wrote on social media, a day after reports emerged that Jantar Mantar had been removed from the list of designated protest sites in the national capital.

Jantar Mantar was denotified as a designated protest site on Sunday following recommendations from a committee constituted by the Union home ministry. The police order was reported on Monday.

The order designated three alternative venues for protests: Ramlila Ground in central Delhi, Burari Ground in northern Delhi and CBD Ground in the Shahdara area of eastern Delhi.

The decision came amid protests in the capital by the Cockroach Janta Party, Opposition parties and student groups demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over concerns about the functioning of the Election Commission and its handling of the special intensive revision of electoral rolls.

Protests were also held at Jantar Mantar in June and July over alleged examination irregularities.

The Cockroach Janta Party began a sit-in at the protest site on June 20, which continued until July 28.

The protest led to Bharatiya Janata Party leader Dharmendra Pradhan resigning as Union education minister.