Leaders of India's Cockroach protest movement freed from detention

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 11 Oct, 10:48 · Archive

Three leaders of India's Cockroach Janata Party youth movement were released Sunday after detention ahead of protests against voter list changes.

Three leaders of the Cockroach Janata Party, an Indian youth movement, were released Sunday after being detained ahead of protests against a revision of voter lists. Abhijeet Dipke, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were freed on condition that they commit 'no breach of peace for one year', according to Ratna Singh, the movement's legal director. Police had detained the leaders after their flight from Mumbai landed in New Delhi on Saturday as they prepared to lead a demonstration.

The protests centre on a voter list revision that critics say is politically motivated. The revision, which began last summer, has removed more than 130 million names from the lists. Protesters are demanding the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar, the chief election commissioner. Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the Election Commission deny allegations of manipulation.

Authorities launched a sweeping security crackdown in the capital, detaining more than 2,000 protesters, including several opposition lawmakers. Train services to the capital were cancelled, metro stations closed and mobile internet suspended in parts of the city. Most of those detained were released late Saturday. After his release, Dipke called Prime Minister Narendra Modi 'an embarrassment to India' and 'a bigger coward and bully' on social media.

How it is being reported

• India's 'Cockroach' protest movement leaders freed from detentionLeaders of the Cockroach Janata Party, an Indian youth movement, were released Sunday after being detained ahead of protests against a voter list revision.News4Jax · 11 Oct, 10:14
• India's 'Cockroach' protest movement leaders freed from detentionLeaders of the Cockroach Janata Party, an Indian youth movement, were released Sunday after being detained ahead of protests against a voter list revision.Clickorlando · 11 Oct, 10:14

In this story: Cockroach Janata Party · Abhijeet Dipke · Saurav Das · Ashutosh Ranka · Gyanesh Kumar · Narendra Modi · New Delhi

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem