On October 10, authorities operating across Delhi and Gurugram took into custody a number of leaders affiliated with the Cockroach Janta Party, together with YouTuber Dhruv Rathee and content creator Kavya Karnatac — who goes by "KK Create" on digital platforms — before the group could proceed with a planned gathering at Jantar Mantar. Organisers had directed the rally at Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, and the event proceeded without the authorisation that had been sought.

A post on X, the platform previously known as Twitter, carried word from the CJP that three of its members — founder Abhijeet Dipke, spokesperson Saurav Das, and co-convenor Ashutosh Ranka — had been taken into detention. Footage released by the CJP captured the moment party leaders were taken into custody after their aircraft touched down at Delhi airport. In a statement, the organisation characterised the move as one element within a broader enforcement effort.

According to multiple independent accounts, Rathee was apprehended at his family home in Sector 56, Gurugram, while Karnatac was picked up from the Dhaula Kuan locality in Delhi. Rathee's residence drew law enforcement personnel in the early hours of Saturday, based on accounts from police sources and statements issued by the CJP. Before the demonstration got under way, police personnel conveyed an advisory to him against making the journey to Delhi. His refusal to comply was followed by officers taking him into custody.

Having spent the earlier part of that week in India after travelling from his base in Germany, Rathee attended a CJP-organised demonstration in Bengaluru on October 8. Karnatac, who built the KK Create platform around ground-level documentary-style video work and draws audiences across YouTube, Instagram, and X, was among a number of content creators and activists taken into custody as authorities increased their presence throughout the capital.

The organisation additionally disclosed that Ratna Singh, who heads its legal affairs division, had been taken into custody. Police took people into custody before any gathering could form, acting on the grounds that the planned location had not received authorisation for public assembly. By mid-morning, the tally of those taken into custody across the wider operation had climbed past 150, according to available accounts.

The October 10 rally, organised by the CJP — a group with roots in student protest activity and a membership drawn predominantly from young people — centred on a formal call for Kumar's resignation. Complaints raised by organisers pointed to problems within the SIR process, among them the removal of names from electoral rolls on a notable scale. A call was also put forward for an independent inquiry, alongside reforms to how Election Commissioners are appointed. Among the organisations that added their voices to the appeal was AISA, alongside other student bodies.

Permission for the gathering was withheld by Delhi Police, who pointed to paperwork submitted past the required deadline as well as what they described as breaches of agreed conditions at an earlier protest. Border checkpoints, shuttered metro stations, suspended rail services into Delhi, and a reinforced security presence at key sites formed the web of measures put in place by the authorities. A ruling from the Supreme Court, issued beforehand, had put restrictions on wholesale bans affecting public transport services.

A statement from the CJP voiced opposition to the arrests that had taken place. On posts to X, the organisation characterised the detentions as evidence that authorities harboured unease toward young people who question official conduct and speak out, called for those held to be freed without conditions or delay, and framed the enforcement measures as an effort to suppress objections over voter registration concerns. Officers described the measures as an unavoidable response to uphold public order, pointing to the withdrawal of authorisation for the gathering as their justification.

An advisory reached Rathee and a number of others indicating that a journey to the capital was best avoided. Publicly available accounts made no mention of specific charges being brought against those held in custody. In response to scrutiny of the revision exercise, the Election Commission pointed to collective decision-making at the full commission level as its justification. Queries about the programme's reach and its effects on electoral rolls had come from opposition parties and civil society organisations alike.

By Saturday, detentions in central Delhi had not wound down, and a heightened security presence held across the area.