Three CJP leaders placed under preventive arrest after entering Jantar Mantar

New Delhi: Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders Ashutosh Ranka, Saurav Das and Ajinkya Shinde were placed under preventive arrest after entering the Jantar Mantar area without authorisation and raising slogans demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation, officials said on Wednesday.

The three were detained early Tuesday after allegedly breaching barricades and entering the protest site, which was recently denotified as a designated venue for demonstrations.

Police have registered a case against them on charges including trespassing, violation of prohibitory orders, breach of a peace bond and obstructing a public servant from discharging official duties, PTI reported, citing sources.

Ranka and Das had signed bonds undertaking to maintain peace for a year after being detained during a protest in the national capital on Saturday.

The three were expected to be produced before the Special Court of the Executive Magistrate later on Wednesday morning.

The arrests come amid heightened security in the national capital following a series of protests by the CJP and other organisations against irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

On October 11, Delhi Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar issued an order designating Ramlila Maidan, Burari Ground and CBD Ground as venues for protests and demonstrations, following which Jantar Mantar was denotified as a designated protest site.

The CJP has criticised the move, arguing that shifting demonstrations away from the political centre of the national capital would weaken the visibility of public dissent.

Rahul vows to continue fight against 'vote chori'
Meanwhile, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and other opposition leaders have vowed to continue their campaign against alleged electoral irregularities.

Rahul, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, said the opposition would hold those responsible for alleged "vote chori" accountable, naming Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

He made the remarks after hosting opposition leaders, civil society representatives and student leaders at his residence on Tuesday. Rahul said political and public resistance would continue, adding that he hoped the Supreme Court and the Chief Justice of India would play their part in the process.

Responding to the protests, Shah accused Rahul of trying to get infiltrators registered as voters and predicted another electoral defeat for the Congress in 2029. He argued that the party's electoral setbacks could not be attributed to the SIR, which began after 2024, and urged it to introspect.