CJP Leaders Custody Extended Two Days After Jantar Mantar Protest

Delhi – (Special Correspondent/Web Desk) – CJP leaders custody has been extended by two more days, an Indian court ruled on Monday, local media reported. Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das, two leaders of the Cockroach Janta Party, will now stay in prison a little longer.

Both men were detained last week for protesting at Jantar Mantar, a historic site in Delhi. The protest broke a ban that had just come into force.

What happened at Jantar Mantar

On Tuesday, Ranka, Das and 12 other people climbed over barricades and entered the Jantar Mantar observatory. The site had been removed from the list of approved protest places only a day earlier.

The group waved the Indian flag and shouted slogans. They wanted Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to resign.

Police detained them soon after. A court then sent Ranka and Das to prison for five days.

Why the court extended their stay

On Monday evening, a local court added two more days to their judicial custody. Delhi Police had asked for extra time to question the two leaders.

Delhi Police did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

The group’s legal head, Ratna Singh, spoke to reporters outside the court. She called the decision a mockery of the justice system. She also said the team would challenge the order in a higher court.

More arrests on Friday

The trouble did not end with the first arrests. On Friday, hundreds of people gathered in central Delhi to support Ranka and Das.

Police detained CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke that day. Several student leaders and other supporters were also taken into custody.

The youth-led CJP, opposition parties and left-wing student groups have held protests almost every day this month. They want Gyanesh Kumar to step down.

Their anger is about a revision of the voter lists. They say the changes help Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party.

The Election Commission rejects this claim. It says it does not favour any party. It also says that people removed by mistake can sign up again.

The BJP has its own view. It says its rivals are hurting democracy by wrongly doubting fair election work.

The latest wave of protests began after the Indian Express published a report. It said Kumar’s two deputies had raised concerns inside the commission. Their worries covered the voter list changes, the sign-up process and the digital systems.

The Election Commission says 130 million names have been removed from voter lists since last year. That number is larger than the population of Japan.

According to the commission, 28 million of them had died. Another 63 million had moved to a new place. About 30 million could not be traced.

A growing challenge for Modi

The Cockroach movement has become one of the biggest political tests for Modi and the BJP in his 12 years in power.

Earlier this year, the group and its supporters held a sit-in that lasted weeks. It ended with the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who quit over exam paper leaks.

What comes next

The two leaders will remain in jail for now. Their legal team plans to go to a higher court.

Many people will be watching to see whether the protests grow or slow down. The CJP leaders custody case has already become a key moment for the movement.