CJP Leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka Sent to Five-Day Judicial Custody

PTI, Oct 14, 2026, New Delhi: Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were remanded to five days’ judicial custody on Wednesday for allegedly trespassing into a private property to reach Jantar Mantar, a denotified protest site, and violating bonds requiring them to maintain peace, police said.

Their associate Ajinkya Shinde was bound down to maintain peace and good behaviour for six months and released on a personal bond and a surety of Rs 5,000, they said.

According to police, Das and Ranka were sent to Tihar jail for five days after the Special Executive Magistrate considered the kalandra (preventive police report) details, their repeated violation of the law, and the serious apprehension that, if released on bail, they would violate the law again and instigate others.

They were produced before the Special Executive Magistrate on Wednesday morning.

The CJP leaders were detained early on Tuesday after they, along with 11 other activists, allegedly breached barricades and entered the Jantar Mantar area without authorisation, raising slogans against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and erecting a national flag there.

Police said Das and Ranka, who were detained on Saturday as well, had signed bonds to maintain peace for a year.

The action against the CJP leaders comes amid heightened security in the national capital following a series of protests held by the youth-led outfit and other organisations demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.

Reacting to the development, CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke slammed the Centre for crushing dissent. In an X post, he said: “Ashu and Saurav have been sent to five days’ judicial custody. Their fault? Unfurling the Tricolour at Jantar Mantar.”

Dipke further said: “Show some guts, @narendramodi. If you are so determined to crush dissent, have the courage to officially declare an Emergency instead of hiding behind these cowardly tactics.”

In a statement, Delhi Police said that on the morning of October 13, Saurav Das, Ashutosh Ranka, Ajinkya Shinde and 11 other CJP members entered Jantar Mantar, which has been denotified as a designated protest site, by trespassing through a private premise.

“Police personnel deployed at the spot intervened and attempted to stop them. However, the protesters allegedly obstructed police personnel in the discharge of their official duties,” the statement said.