Police in New Delhi detained hundreds of protesters on Sunday, the second day of demonstrations demanding that India’s election chief step down. Sporadic protests broke out across the city as officers moved in to remove the crowds.
A court ordered the release of Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the “cockroach” movement, and two other senior leaders. They had been detained when their plane landed in Delhi on Saturday, as the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) planned to gather thousands of people at Jantar Mantar in central Delhi.
Court orders release on condition of public peace
The court directed that the leaders be freed on the condition that they “maintain public peace,” the CJP said in a statement. Shortly after Dipke was released, the group posted on its X account: “Cockroaches never die.”
Allegations of police assault during detentions
Youth protesters, many from student organisations linked to India’s communist parties, launched fresh protests on Sunday afternoon. Police detained them and took them away in vehicles.
The All India Students’ Association alleged in a post on X that those detained were assaulted by police inside the vehicles. A video posted on X by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) showed its lawmaker, John Brittas, being helped from a bus into an autorickshaw, appearing to be in distress.
Demands for the election chief’s resignation
The youth movement is one of the biggest political challenges to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his 12 years in power. His Bharatiya Janata Party has repeatedly won elections and sidelined serious opponents, including the Congress Party.
The protesters want Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to resign over a revision of voter lists. Critics say the revision disproportionately benefits Modi.
