Indian court orders release of Cockroach Janata Party leaders after one‑day detention

An executive magistrate freed the movement’s founder and two senior figures on condition of a one‑year no‑breach‑of‑peace pledge.

By Felo News Desk · Published Sun, 11 Oct 2026 12:51:16 GMT

Three leaders of the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), including founder Abhijeet Dipke, were released on Sunday, a day after being detained at Delhi airport ahead of a planned protest, according to multiple news outlets.

What happened

Police boarded the CJP leaders’ flight from Mumbai when it landed in New Delhi on Saturday and placed them in custody before they could disembark. The detention was part of a broader security crackdown that saw more than 2,000 protesters, opposition lawmakers and activists detained, train services cancelled, metro stations closed and mobile internet suspended in parts of the capital.

On Sunday an executive magistrate’s court ordered the release of the three leaders. Their lawyer, Ratna Singh, announced the court order on social media, noting that the release was conditional on the leaders’ commitment to “no breach of peace for one year.”

What the reports add

Reuters, cited by The Guardian, reported that police had detained over 2,000 people to thwart the Saturday protest. The Independent and CBS News both specified the three freed leaders as Abhijeet Dipke, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, and quoted Singh’s social‑media post about the one‑year peace pledge. France 24 added that the leaders were released by an executive magistrate’s court and described Dipke being driven away in a black vehicle after exiting the courtroom.

What was said

Ratna Singh, the CJP’s legal director, said in a social‑media post that the leaders had been released on the condition of a “no breach of peace for one year.”

After his release, Abhijeet Dipke called Prime Minister Narendra Modi “an embarrassment to India,” as reported by The Independent.

How it came about

The detentions followed weeks of opposition mobilisation against a contentious revision of voter lists, which the CJP alleges was used to sway election results. Earlier coverage by Felo News documented the lockdown of Delhi on 10 October, when more than 1,000 protesters and opposition figures were detained, trains were cancelled, and mobile internet was suspended (see article). The UN Human Rights Office later criticised the mass arrests, a point rebuffed by the Indian government (see article).

Key facts

Three Cockroach Janata Party leaders were released on Oct 11, 2026. (independent.co.uk)
The release was ordered by an executive magistrate’s court. (france24.com)
Leaders were freed on condition of a one‑year no‑breach‑of‑peace pledge. (independent.co.uk)
Detentions were part of a crackdown that saw over 2,000 protesters arrested. (theguardian.com)
Police boarded the leaders’ flight from Mumbai upon arrival in New Delhi. (independent.co.uk)