CJP Leaders Detained on Delhi-Bound Flight Ahead of Jantar Mantar Protest

Unusual developments took place in Delhi on Saturday. Police took Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) leaders Abhijit Deepke, Sourav Das and Ashutosh Rankala into custody on a flight that had arrived in Delhi from Mumbai. The CJP had announced that it would stage a protest near Jantar Mantar on Saturday, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Against this backdrop, the Centre created a situation resembling a lockdown in the national capital, Delhi. As previously reported, metro stations were closed and several trains arriving in Delhi were also cancelled. Normally, authorities go to such lengths to take people into custody on board an aircraft only in the case of hardened criminals. However, the same approach was adopted before taking the CJP leaders into custody. There is widespread discussion that women officers appear to have been sent into the aircraft specifically to ensure that there would be no resistance. CJP founder Deepke posted details of their detention on the flight on his social media accounts.

CJP members objected to being taken into custody without being allowed to wait until passengers had disembarked from the aircraft. This led to an argument between the police and party members. They said they were prepared to face arrest and were not afraid of such actions. The CJP leaders had arrived in Delhi to lead the proposed protest at Jantar Mantar against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. They said that even if the police took them into custody, their demand would remain unchanged. Even after the arrest of CJP leaders, tensions continued in Delhi. Some young people are coming forward to participate in the protests. However, the police are taking them into custody as soon as they arrive and transporting them to police stations.