New Delhi: A Special Executive Magistrate court in New Delhi on Sunday released Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders Abhijeet Dipke, Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das, a day after the Delhi Police placed them under preventive arrest.
Why they were held
The three were taken into custody at the airport on Saturday, ahead of a planned protest at Jantar Mantar against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The protest was meant to demand his resignation over alleged irregularities in electoral rolls. YouTuber Dhruv Rathee, who was detained by Gurugram Police before he could join the protest, was released around 3 am on Sunday.
The condition for release
Delhi Police said the three were produced before the court that morning and freed after furnishing a surety bond of Rs 50,000 to maintain peace and good behaviour for one year. Under the law, an Executive Magistrate can ask a person who may disturb public peace to sign such a bond, for up to one year. In simple words, the leaders have promised the court that they will not break the peace, and a guarantor has backed that promise with money. newsonairorganiser
Dipke’s reaction
Soon after his release, Dipke said he had not signed anything that stops the party from protesting. In a post on X, he wrote that he had not signed any bond saying the CJP would not protest. He also said the party would neither back down nor be intimidated. thedailyjagranthedailyjagran
He accused the Delhi Police of inhumane and politically motivated treatment, alleging that he was denied calls to his family after his grandmother’s death. These are his allegations. The police have said that officers informed him about the death as soon as they learned of it and offered help for his journey home. asianetnewsasianetnews
A family loss
Hours after his release, Dipke said he was heading to his hometown in Maharashtra for the last rites of his grandmother, who passed away on Saturday. He wrote that he was going back to his village to be with his family in this moment of grief. telanganatodayorissapost
Supreme Court order on the same day
The detentions took place on the same day the Supreme Court ruled that peaceful, unarmed protesters cannot be detained except through the procedure established by law. The court also asked authorities to keep Delhi’s metro and railway services running normally, keep internet connections undisturbed and restore free movement of people. thedailyjagranthedailyjagran
What next
The CJP has said its protests demanding the Chief Election Commissioner’s resignation will continue, while Delhi Police have put strict restrictions in place to stop them. The party has told its workers to treat any place where police stop them as their own protest site. keralakaumudi
The Chief Election Commissioner’s side of the matter is not part of the reports used here. Whether the CJP’s next protest goes ahead, and how the police respond, remains to be seen.
