Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders, Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das, have been sent to 5 days’ judicial custody on Wednesday (October 14, 2026). The two CJP leaders, along with Ajinkya Shinde, were placed under preventive arrest at the Parliamentary Police Station. They were produced before a magistrate at Mandir Marg in Delhi around 8:00 am on Wednesday morning. Shinde was released after signing a bond, while Rank and Das were sent to Tihar Jail under judicial custody.
#WATCH | Delhi: Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) Chief Spokesperson Saurav Das and its National Spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka being brought out of Mandir Marg Police Station. They have been sent to 5-day judicial custody. https://t.co/LIcRzFwutx
— ANI (@ANI) October 14, 2026
The CJP leaders, along with about 11 party members, were detained yesterday (October 13, 2026) by police while attempting to enter Jantar Mantar after the place was denotified as a designated protest site on Monday (October 12, 2026). They managed to enter Jantar Mantar carrying the national flag to stage a protest against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.
An FIR was filed against them on charges including trespass, bond violation, and disruption of a public official’s duty. The police said that the trespass by CJP chief spokesperson Saurav Das and national spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka at Jantar Mantar was a repeat violation of Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).
Delhi Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar, on Sunday (October 11, 2026), issued an order declaring Ramlila Maidan, Burari Ground and CBD Ground in Delhi as protest venues. Subsequently, Jantar Mantar was denotified as a designated protest site in compliance with a Supreme Court order.
Notably, the breach at Jantar Mantar by Ranka and Das comes after they, along with CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke, were released from preventive detention after furnishing a surety bond of ₹50,000 and signing a one-year undertaking to maintain peace and good behaviour. All three CJP leaders were arrested by Delhi Police at Delhi airport on October 10, 2026, as they were headed to join an unauthorised protest at Jantar Mantar to demand the resignation of the CEC. They were placed under preventive detention to prevent a law and order situation in the national capital.
The Delhi Police had refused the CJP permission to organise a protest at Jantar Mantar after they failed to abide by their undertaking given to the police ahead of the anti-paper leak protest in June. During the CJP-led protest, police directions and the law were not followed by the CJP leaders and the protesters, who turned violent, clashed with police personnel, and assaulted them. Over a hundred police personnel, as well as several journalists, were injured during the violence.
