Three leaders affiliated with the Cockroach Janta Party — Abhijeet Dipke, Ashutosh Ranka, and Saurav Das — were taken into preventive custody and are scheduled to appear before the Executive Magistrate at Delhi Cantt Police Station on Sunday, according to a police officer.

Delhi Police took the three individuals into custody shortly after their Mumbai flight landed in the capital that Saturday. The party had scheduled a demonstration at Jantar Mantar for later that day. On Saturday, officers put in place a series of measures aimed at keeping demonstrators away from Jantar Mantar.

Ratna Singh, who heads legal affairs at CJP, posted on X that a Delhi Police official had informed her the three individuals — Abhijeet, Ashutosh, and Saurav — were scheduled to appear before the Executive Magistrate at Delhi Cantt Police Station at 9 AM that day. In a written account, she noted that a Delhi Police official had passed along the information to her that morning.

Advocates for the three leaders, Singh among them, were set to appear at the police station, according to a news channel.

Dipke, Das, and Ranka were taken into custody by officers who boarded the aircraft after its Mumbai-originating flight touched down at Delhi. A video released by the CJP captured Dipke addressing officers who had boarded the aircraft, telling them that those present had come to be taken into custody and inviting the officers to proceed. Prior to the detentions, police personnel had informed the CJP leadership that the planned demonstration at Jantar Mantar had not been authorised.

Dipke contended that party leaders within the CJP were being held in a manner more befitting those accused of crimes. He drew a comparison with former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, noting that even she had not taken such a step, and characterised the move as authoritarian in nature, attributing it to what he described as apprehension on the part of Narendra Modi. He further stated that the measure represented an action that went beyond what had been implemented even during the Emergency period under Indira Gandhi's administration.

In a video recording, Dipke described being removed from the aircraft by Delhi Police as an unlawful exercise of state power, asserting that the group had gathered only to demonstrate peacefully and inviting officers to proceed with any detention they intended to carry out. Those gathered made plain their readiness for detention, inviting officers to take them into custody. Dipke stated that fear played no part in their stance.

A force of over 30,000 police and paramilitary officers was positioned across New Delhi in the hours before the CJP demonstration was due to get underway. Across the city, physical barriers were erected along roadways, 45 underground stations were taken out of service, and personnel conducted checks at border crossings, rail hubs, coach depots, hotels, and other locations deemed sensitive.

Police sources reported that Saturday's unrest across Delhi resulted in the detention of over 7,000 people, with the New Delhi area alone accounting for upwards of 2,000 of those held.