Geopolitics · UB-031
Delhi detains thousands as the youth 'Cockroach' movement presses the election chief to quit
Published 14-10-2026 · UB-031 · 🇮🇳 · ✓ 4 linked sources
File photo: Election Commission of India, Nirvachan Sadan, New Delhi, 16-05-2009. Photo: Election Commission of India / Wikimedia Commons, GODL-IndiaPolice held thousands of protesters and the movement's leaders as the youth-led campaign against the voter-list revision tried to rally in the capital.
Indian authorities mounted a sweeping security operation in New Delhi on 10-10-2026 and detained thousands of protesters as the youth-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) tried to escalate its campaign against the voter-list revision, AP reported. The movement is demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Police boarded the plane carrying CJP leaders Abhijeet Dipke, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka after it landed from Mumbai and took them into custody before the rally. A court ordered their release the next day, and the movement said they had given an undertaking to keep the peace. Police detained hundreds more people on 11-10-2026 as sporadic protests broke out across the capital, Reuters reported.
On 12-10-2026, Delhi Police said Jantar Mantar, the capital's best-known protest site, was no longer an official venue for demonstrations and named three alternatives. A day later, Das, Ranka and Ajinkya Shinde were among about 20 volunteers detained after crossing barricades to enter the site, Al Jazeera reported.
Critics say the revision favours the ruling BJP. The Election Commission and the BJP deny this. The movement's leaders have promised more protests.