On Sunday, 18th October, Delhi Police has registered an FIR against unknown persons after a Special Executive Magistrate (SEM) complained of receiving a death threat linked to proceedings involving Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) co-convenors Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das.
The development comes amid allegations by the CJP that the SEM did not hear the bail matter of the two leaders on its merits, instead focusing on a threatening message he had received. The party has maintained that the threat was unrelated to the proceedings concerning their release from judicial custody.
Delhi Police has lodged an FIR against unknown persons for threatening the Special Executive Magistrate (SEM) in connection with the bail matter of CJP leaders Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das: Delhi Police Sources
— ANI (@ANI) October 18, 2026
According to police, the SEM filed a formal complaint, after which an FIR was registered against unknown persons. Details about the threat and the identity of the person who sent it were not immediately available.
Why CJP leaders were detained
Ranka and Das were detained last Tuesday for trespassing at Jantar Mantar, which was no longer a designated protest site. They were arrested later that night and produced before a magistrate’s court on Wednesday. The court sent them to five days of judicial custody.
Their bail proceedings later became contentious, with the party’s legal team alleging delays and questioning how the hearing was conducted.
CJP alleges bail hearing was diverted
Ratna Singh, head of the CJP legal cell, claimed that the hearing had been delayed despite the required formalities being completed. She said the team had been waiting since noon for the proceedings to begin.
Speaking to PTI, Singh alleged, “We have been here since morning. We were told that the entire hearing would take place at 12 pm. Today, everything was complete, the verification was done, and all requirements were met. We have been waiting here since noon.”
She further claimed that the SEM reached the police station around 1.30 pm but did not enter the courtroom until 5 pm. When he arrived, Singh claimed, he did not hear arguments on whether Ranka and Das should be released from judicial custody.
Instead, she alleged, the proceedings shifted to the threat the SEM received. Singh also questioned the timing of the development, saying the public prosecutor, who had not appeared at the police station for the previous four days, was present on Monday.
“Within about five minutes of the proceedings, the SEM told the court that he had received a threatening message. From that point on, the entire discussion revolved solely around that message,” she said.
