Abhijeet Dipke, who founded the movement associated with the "cockroach" designation, was detained on Friday — though news of the arrest did not reach multiple outlets until the following day — with the custody occurring ahead of a Delhi rally that drew hundreds of people into the streets, many of them holding national flags and calling on the country's election commission chief to resign.
Dipke was taken into custody on grounds of preventing a potential public order disturbance and was set to appear before a Special Executive Magistrate on Saturday, according to two news outlets. Delhi police had not responded to an emailed query by the time of publication.
Demonstrations demanding the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar have taken place on most days throughout the month, drawing in the Cockroach Janta Party — a youth-oriented political organisation — alongside opposition blocs and student groups, all of whom contend that a recent revision of electoral rolls was structured in a way that favoured Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party.
Over the course of the voter roll revision, upwards of 130 million registrations were removed from the electoral records. In response to allegations of partisan favouritism, the Election Commission stated that no such bias had taken place and that voters whose registrations were removed in error retain a path to re-enrol. The party lodged a formal complaint that opposition groups were attempting to cast doubt on voting procedures it regards as lawful and above reproach.
Neha Bora, a student activist detained on Friday while travelling toward central Delhi with a group of supporters, was released the following day and urged authorities to safeguard the people of India. Speaking after her release, Bora told a prominent news channel that the removal of Gyanesh Kumar from his position and a suspension of the special intensive revision process were steps she described as necessary for voters across the country to have their electoral rights protected and their concerns addressed.
On Friday, Dipke was taken into custody outside a residence in central Delhi, placed in a waiting police vehicle following a brief exchange, and driven away. Dipke had arranged Friday's gathering in solidarity with two Cockroach Janta Party figures who had spent five days in detention after attending a demonstration at a venue where assemblies were not permitted. That morning, officers had approached Dipke ahead of the planned demonstration and conveyed an instruction that he not proceed with it.
The protest movement, which some analysts have described as among the more consequential opposition forces to have tested Modi and the BJP during their time governing the country, has drawn sustained attention over the course of the administration's tenure. Protest demonstrations staged over several weeks by movement supporters played a role in Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan stepping down amid disclosures of examination paper leaks.
