CJP Protesters Hide In Gurudwara, Don Cockroach Helmets

Around 500 people were detained in New Delhi on Saturday as police prevented protesters from reaching Jantar Mantar for a planned Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) demonstration against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Amid heavy security deployment and prohibitory orders, protesters repeatedly regrouped at different locations, raised slogans against the police and were chased down and detained.

The demonstration, scheduled to begin at 10.30 am, was denied permission by Delhi Police. Security personnel blocked access to Jantar Mantar and detained demonstrators at several locations, including near Regal Cinema in Connaught Place. Some protesters were turned away, while others tried to regroup near Shivaji Stadium Metro Station.

Protesters Chant Slogans As Police Make Detentions

A group of 10 to 20 protesters marched slowly along a road near Shivaji Stadium Metro Station, raising slogans, including, “Your children will be suffering too”. When one demonstrator stepped into the middle of the road to shout slogans, police personnel rushed to detain him.

Buses carrying detainees repeatedly left the area, with some passengers shouting “Inquilab Zindabad” and others displaying their press credentials through the windows. Police chased and detained protesters, including women, at several locations. A few demonstrators reportedly took refuge inside a nearby gurdwara amid the commotion.

Senior police officials monitored the situation on the ground as personnel were deployed at major intersections and flag marches were conducted. Police also appealed to people to comply with prohibitory orders.

Cockroach-Antennae Helmet Draws Attention

Amid the security restrictions, a Delhi resident identified as Anand, who works in the private information technology sector, walked along a footpath near Shivaji Stadium Metro Station wearing a helmet fitted with cockroach antennae to express solidarity with the CJP.

“This is my own way of paying a tribute to the CJP and opposition alliance leader because what the current dispensation is doing is not in line with what the government should ideally be doing,” he told PTI.

Anand said the heavy security presence curtailed freedom of expression and basic rights.

Md Asif, a visitor from Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh, said he had arrived in Delhi two days earlier, anticipating restrictions on the protest. Comparing the security arrangements to an international border, he said, “This is not even looking like its national capital. It looks like they have made an India-Pakistan border here.”

While some bystanders voiced support for the protest from the sidelines, others avoided joining demonstrators for fear of detention. The CJP demonstration was organised amid demands for Kumar’s resignation and scrutiny of the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.