NEW DELHI: Indian police detained the head of the “cockroach” online movement as well as thousands of protesters trying to take part in a major demonstration in New Delhi against the country’s election commissioner, the group said on Saturday.
The protest is the culmination of weeks of opposition mobilisation following allegations of misconduct during a nationwide voter-roll revision by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
DEEPLY DISTURBING!
BJP-RSS goons beating a young girl in the presence of Delhi Police, with an officer seemingly guiding them to stop the recording.
Why is Delhi Police helping goons attack peaceful protestors instead of protecting them? Who gave them this free hand? https://t.co/2JeT40wrx2
— Cockroach Janta Party – CJP (@Cockroachisback) October 10, 2026
Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke and two other leaders were detained before disembarking from a flight in the capital, according to a statement from the group.
🇮🇳 Indian police have detained the head of the satirical “cockroach” online movement as well as thousands of protesters trying to take part in a major demonstration in New Delhi against the country’s election commissioner, the group said on Saturday.
➡️ https://t.co/TBTTlKhZHW https://t.co/FIGicq3nKj— AFP News Agency (@AFP) October 10, 2026
“They’re being denied access to their lawyers and cut off from all contact with others,” the cockroach movement said, adding the trio had been taken to “an undisclosed location”.
The CJP also said that thousands more protesters were detained in New Delhi as they attempted to march to the main Jantar Mantar protest site, defying a massive security clampdown.
“More than 15,000 protesters have been detained,” Ajinkya Shinde, a CJP leader, said at a news conference in Delhi.
“We will be back, let them fill up all the jails,” Shinde said.
Dozens of protesters shouted anti-government slogans as they were taken away in police vehicles.
Calls for the ECI chief Gyanesh Kumar to step down have intensified in recent weeks as opposition parties and critics said his commission’s voter-roll revision could disenfranchise millions of constituents and benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Ahead of the protest, authorities in the capital deployed thousands of police, closed dozens of metro stations, cancelled more than 200 trains and temporarily shut down mobile internet around the protest site.
Delhi: A large number of police personnel remained deployed at Jantar Mantar amid the protest called by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) against CEC Gyanesh Kumar. https://t.co/nuyY4Tqisy
— IANS (@ians_india) October 10, 2026
The demonstrations are widely seen as a reprise of the “cockroach” movement’s mass mobilisation in July, which led to the education minister stepping down over an examination scandal.
This time, protesters are demanding Kumar’s resignation and a halt to the voter revision exercise.
Fresh Challenge for PM Modi
The accusations are a fresh challenge for 76-year-old Modi during his third term in office.
Opposition parties have long alleged that legitimate voters are being struck off lists in India, the world’s largest democracy with 1.4 billion people.
The issue flared up last month when the Indian Express newspaper reported that key decisions linked to the revision were taken without the approval of two of the three election commissioners.
Demonstrators expressed anger on Saturday, saying their right to protest peacefully was being hampered.
Saransh, a university graduate, walked several miles after navigating security barricades to get close to the Jantar Mantar protest site.
“I am here to protect the constitution,” said the 24-year-old, who gave only one name.
“Why do I need permission to peacefully express my opinion?”
‘Keep Protesting’ Against Govt
Amnesty International denounced the “lockdown-like restrictions” and leader of the opposition Congress party, Rahul Gandhi, called on young people to continue with the rallies.
“Youth of India, I am proud of you. Keep protesting. We are standing with you,” he said.
The Hindu newspaper reported that more than 5,000 protesters had been detained.
Media outlets, including the Scroll and Newslaundry, said their journalists had also been detained briefly.
The United Nations’ human rights office urged India to release those “arbitrarily detained” in the protests and expressed concern at reports of mass detentions.
The voter list overhaul, which began in 2025, has led to more than 133 million names being excluded from draft rolls, according to Indian media reports citing ECI data.
Critics say the drive has disproportionately affected marginalised and minority communities.
Political analyst Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay told AFP the protest comes at a time when Modi appears to be “at his weakest politically and individually”.
Though India’s next general elections are not slated until 2029, the country’s most populous state of Uttar Pradesh will go to the polls next year.
“I see this becoming a bigger challenge in the coming months,” Mukhopadhyay said.
