- CJP leaders entered Jantar Mantar, defying its recent denotification.
- Police subsequently detained them for climbing over locked gates.
- CJP alleged police denied lawyer access, confiscated leaders’ phones.
- The group aimed to reclaim the site’s public protest status.
The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on Tuesday alleged that Delhi Police had denied its detained leaders access to their lawyers, hours after several members of the pressure group were taken into custody following their entry into Jantar Mantar by climbing over its locked gates. Those detained include CJP co-convenors Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, along with Ajinkya Shinde. The development comes a day after Delhi Police withdrew Jantar Mantar’s status as a designated protest site, prompting the group to challenge the decision by entering the premises.
The CJP has raised concerns over the circumstances of the detentions, alleging that the leaders’ phones were also confiscated. The police have not been quoted as responding to these specific allegations in the information available.
CJP Raises Lawyer Access Issue
CJP’s legal head, Ratna Singh, alleged on X that Das, Ranka and other detained members were being held at Jaffarpur Kalan police station and had not been allowed to meet their legal representatives.
She also said their mobile phones had been taken away, questioning the legal basis for their detention and the denial of access to counsel. “The SHO of Jaffarpur Kalan police station has refused to let the lawyer meet them, while their phones have been confiscated, raise serious concerns. Under what legal authority are they being detained and why is their lawyer being denied access?” Singh wrote on social media.
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Leaders Enter Jantar Mantar
The detentions followed an incident on Tuesday morning in which Das and Ranka allegedly entered Jantar Mantar by climbing over its locked gates. The location had been denotified as a designated protest site on Monday.
Ranka posted a video on X showing himself, Das and Shinde scaling the gates and entering the premises. Police personnel subsequently intervened and took them into custody.
A senior police officer, speaking to HT earlier, said Das and Ranka had arrived at the location with at least 10 other people. According to the officer, the group entered Jantar Mantar carrying the national flag and intended to protest against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.
This comes against the backdrop of a circular issued by Delhi Police on Monday withdrawing Jantar Mantar’s designation as an authorised protest venue. The circular identified three alternative locations for demonstrations: Ramlila Maidan, Burari Ground and CBD Ground.
The decision means Jantar Mantar, a prominent site for political and public demonstrations in the national capital, is no longer among the designated venues for protests under the new arrangement.
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Saurav Das Says Site Reclaimed
Following the incident, Das described the group’s entry as an attempt to reclaim Jantar Mantar for public demonstrations. “In less than 24 hours of Jantar Mantar being denotified as a designated protest site, we reclaimed it. This is a message to the government – hands off people’s Jantar Mantar! Gyanu’s time is over,” Das wrote on social media.
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke also welcomed the action, arguing that resistance could not be “de-notified.”
🚨Mark my words—The young gen will get Gyanu’s resignation and will reclaim our right to vote! 40,000+ paramilitary forces and police personnel. But they can’t stop the youth! The right to protest is our fundamental right. No one can “denotify” it. 🇮🇳✊🏻🪳 @Cockroachisback https://t.co/1xI4nijaZH
— Saurav Das (@SauravDassss) October 13, 2026
The group’s statements framed the entry as opposition to the removal of Jantar Mantar’s official protest status. The detentions followed shortly after the leaders entered the premises, escalating the confrontation between the pressure group and the authorities over access to the site.
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