Abhijeet Dipke released after india protest detention
Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the Cockroach Janata Party, was released after his detention over a planned protest in New Delhi demanding the resignation of India’s chief election commissioner.
Abhijeet Dipke, founder of India's Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), was released from police custody on Saturday, October 17, a day after his detention in New Delhi while attempting to join a protest rally.
Dipke, 31, was detained on Friday as police moved to prevent a demonstration calling for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. CJP activists and opposition groups have accused India's election authority of manipulating voter lists in favour of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The Election Commission has denied favouring any political party.
According to Reuters, Dipke was released by a court after agreeing to certain conditions, although the details were not disclosed. CJP legal affairs chief Ratna Singh confirmed his release on social media. Student activist Neha Bora, who was also detained while attempting to reach the protest, was released on Saturday as well.
The demonstrations follow a revision of India's voter lists that opposition groups say threatens voters' rights. Reuters reported that more than 130 million voters were deleted during the revision. The Election Commission has said that voters removed incorrectly can re-enrol, while the BJP has rejected criticism of the electoral process.
Two senior CJP leaders, Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das, were arrested on October 14 after entering Jantar Mantar, a protest site where demonstrations had been prohibited. They remained in custody, according to AFP's report.
The youth-led CJP movement gained national attention earlier this year after a weeks-long sit-in contributed to the resignation of India's education minister. Student groups have called for further protests as pressure over the voter-list revision continues.
The dispute has intensified scrutiny of India's election administration, with opposition groups demanding accountability and the commission maintaining that it has acted properly.
