Indian police detain protesters in Delhi as 'Cockroach' movement presses demand for election chief's resignation

Indian police detained protesters in New Delhi on Saturday, October 10, 2026, and sealed off Jantar Mantar, the designated protest site in central Delhi, before a demonstration called by the satirical Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) seeking the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over a revision of voter lists. The CJP said its founder Abhijeet Dipke and leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were detained on arrival at Delhi airport from Mumbai. Thousands of police and paramilitary personnel were deployed, mobile internet services were suspended and metro stations and markets were shut. Delhi Police said they had denied permission for the protest, while CJP leaders rejected the decision and said they would proceed, describing the protest as their fundamental right.

Police set up checkpoints on major roads and entry points into the capital, boarded buses searching for protesters and inspected vehicles, according to Reuters, as reported by The Jerusalem Post. Barricades and concrete blocks disrupted traffic, and anti-riot vehicles equipped with tear-gas launchers were stationed on key routes. Long-distance trains to the city were cancelled and loudspeakers around the protest site warned that gatherings of five or more people were banned in parts of New Delhi. Arab News, citing ANI news agency and a government order, reported that 57 metro stations were shut from Friday night and mobile internet services were suspended within a 4 km (2.5 mile) radius of the protest area from Friday night to Saturday night. The Jerusalem Post reported that mobile internet was suspended in the central business district.

Detention figures varied by outlet. A home ministry official, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said more than 2,000 people were detained in Delhi, and local media said about 400 protesters were held in Mumbai, The Jerusalem Post reported. Al Jazeera English reported that police detained more than 1,000 protesters, opposition politicians, journalists, student union leaders, lawyers and the founders of the CJP. CBC News said thousands of protesters were detained. The Jerusalem Post reported that police did not immediately comment on the detentions.

The CJP said in a statement that its founder Abhijeet Dipke and senior leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were taken into custody when their flight from Mumbai landed in Delhi. Television footage showed Dipke challenging officers who approached him on board the aircraft, telling them: "I have come to be arrested, arrest me ... I am not afraid of you guys." An officer replied that it was not an arrest and asked him to cooperate, according to The Jerusalem Post. Al Jazeera reported that Dipke shared video on Instagram of officers entering the Air India plane, and quoted him as saying in another video circulated by Ranka: "This is dictatorship where Delhi police has entered in the flight and trying to arrest us." The CJP said authorities refused to provide updates on the leaders' whereabouts or health even after news of the death of Dipke's grandmother; police said Dipke was informed of her death and was offered help to return home for the funeral, The Jerusalem Post reported.

The CJP said the "pre-planned interception by Delhi Police aims to cripple the leadership of today's peaceful demonstrations before they even reach the protest site," according to CBC News, and condemned what it called the "authoritarian detention" of its leaders, demanding their release. CJP leader Ajinkya Shinde told reporters the movement would continue protesting "day after day... until Gyanesh Kumar resigns." Al Jazeera reported that among those detained were CJP members, YouTuber and Modi critic Dhruv Rathee, Neha Bora, national president of the All India Students' Association, Dipankar Bhattacharya, general secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist), Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan and politicians Yogendra Yadav and Mamata Banerjee. Opposition lawmaker John Brittas, who had criticised the security measures, was later detained, according to CBC News. The Jerusalem Post reported that opposition lawmakers and former chief ministers Mamata Banerjee of West Bengal, Arvind Kejriwal of Delhi and Pinarayi Vijayan of Kerala were also detained, as shown on TV channels. Representatives of two digital news outlets said police briefly detained four of their reporters, and a Reuters journalist was detained briefly before being released.

The protest centred on the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision. The Indian Express reported that two election commissioners had questioned Kumar's voter-list revisions, which removed roughly 130 million names from voter lists, according to The Jerusalem Post and Arab News. Election Commission data show about 130 million voter entries were removed during the verification exercise, including 63 million people who had relocated, 30 million who could not be traced and 28 million who had died, The Jerusalem Post reported. The commission says the removals relate to entries identified during the draft revision process and that any eligible voter incorrectly deleted can re-enrol. Opposition parties say the deletions affected the outcome of recent state elections won by the BJP and have cast a shadow over voting.

The demonstrations represent one of the most serious tests yet for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, according to The Jerusalem Post and Al Jazeera, stemming from allegations that election authorities improperly revised voter rolls ahead of recent state polls. The unrest comes months after demonstrations over exam paper leaks forced Modi's education minister to resign in July, and ahead of a series of important state elections beginning in early 2027. Arab News noted that the state elections include the BJP-ruled and most populous state of Uttar Pradesh. BBC News reported that the movement started in May after India's Chief Justice likened some unemployed young people to "cockroaches."

Delhi Police said on Friday they had not given permission for the protest because the request did not come on time, that the CJP had violated undertakings given during previous protests, and that authorities had to enforce the law and maintain peace, according to Arab News. CBC News reported police saying permission was denied because the request was submitted late. Some protesters broke through police cordons, chanting slogans against Modi and election authorities before being detained, CBC News reported. Small protests took place elsewhere in the city, including at the crafts market Dilli Haat, and at the memorial to Mahatma Gandhi, where demonstrators demanded Kumar's resignation, according to Al Jazeera and The Jerusalem Post.

Where sources differ

• The number of people detained: The Jerusalem Post, citing a home ministry official, reports more than 2,000 detained in Delhi; Al Jazeera English reports more than 1,000; CBC News says thousands.
• Local media reported about 400 protesters held in Mumbai (The Jerusalem Post), a figure not given by the other sources.
• Metro closures: Arab News, citing ANI, reports 57 metro stations shut from Friday night, while The Jerusalem Post refers to dozens of metro stations shut, without giving a number.
• Accounts of the restriction on mobile internet differ: Arab News reports a suspension ordered within a 4 km radius of the protest area from Friday night to Saturday night; The Jerusalem Post reports services suspended in the central business district; CBC News describes restrictions on mobile internet and access to parts of the city.

• No figure for the total number detained nationwide is established; the higher Delhi figure comes from an unnamed home ministry official via Reuters, and police did not immediately comment on the detentions.
• Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar has not commented, according to The Jerusalem Post and Arab News; his position or rationale is not given in any source.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi is not directly quoted or recorded making a statement in any of the sources, although the protests are described as a challenge to his government.
• The sources do not establish where the detained leaders and protesters are being held, whether any have been charged, or their current condition; the CJP says authorities refused updates, while police say Dipke was informed of his grandmother's death.
• No response from Air India, on whose aircraft police detained the CJP leaders, appears in any source.
• The sources do not establish whether further protests took place after Saturday or what the outcome of the planned Jantar Mantar gathering was beyond detentions and scattered smaller demonstrations.
• No death, injury or casualty figures from the detentions or crowd dispersal are reported in any source.
• The exact final number of names removed from voter lists, and whether the two election commissioners' reported objections are reflected in any formal proceeding, is not established beyond the reported figure of roughly 130 million.

1. The Jerusalem Post — original — by REUTERS
2. BBC News — by @BBCNews
3. CBC News — by Sheikh Saaliq
4. Al Jazeera English — by Al Jazeera Staff
5. The Times of India — by RAJESH PANSARE
6. Arab News — by AFP

Read the original at The Jerusalem Post

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