India releases Cockroach Party founder after protests

India’s Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke was released from police custody on Saturday, a day after his detention during a crackdown on protests against the country’s election authority.

Dipke, 31, was detained in New Delhi on Friday while heading to join a rally organised by his movement in the Connaught Place area. Police reportedly took him into custody to prevent a possible breach of peace.

He left a police station on Saturday afternoon, waving to reporters and giving a thumbs-up as he departed. CJP legal affairs chief Ratna Singh later confirmed his release in a social media post.

The protests have called for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Opposition parties and CJP activists have accused the Election Commission of manipulating voter lists to benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The controversy centres on a revision of electoral rolls that reportedly resulted in more than 130 million voters being removed. The Election Commission has denied favouring any political party and said voters whose names were wrongly deleted could register again.

The BJP, meanwhile, has accused opposition groups of undermining democratic institutions by questioning legitimate electoral procedures.

Student activist Neha Bora, another prominent figure in the protests, was also released on Saturday. She had been detained a day earlier while attempting to reach central Delhi with dozens of supporters.

Following her release, Bora urged authorities to take action against the chief election commissioner and suspend the special intensive revision of voter lists. She said the process should ensure that ordinary citizens could exercise their voting rights without difficulty.

Two other senior CJP leaders, Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das, remain in custody after their arrest on October 14. They were detained after entering Jantar Mantar, a well-known protest site where police have prohibited demonstrations.

The dispute has intensified political tensions over voter registration and electoral transparency in India. Members of the BJP have repeatedly alleged that undocumented migrants from neighbouring Bangladesh, including Muslims, have fraudulently entered electoral rolls. Critics and rights groups have raised broader concerns about democratic freedoms under Modi’s government, including alleged pressure on journalists, civil society organisations and political opponents. The government has rejected such allegations.

The CJP movement has also previously organised protests over examination paper leaks. A weeks-long sit-in earlier this year by its supporters contributed to the resignation of then-education minister Dharmendra Pradhan.