Police detain leaders of India’s ‘cockroach’ movement at New Delhi protest

 Police in the Indian capital have detained leaders of the country’s youth-led “cockroach” movement after they jumped barricades to enter a popular protest site in New Delhi while calling for the resignation of the country’s chief election commissioner (CEC) over voter list revisions.

Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders Ashutosh Ranka, Saurav Das and Ajinkya Shinde were among about 20 volunteers who “sneaked” into Jantar Mantar to “reclaim” the popular protest site and were detained on Tuesday.

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CJP supporters and opposition parties have held protests nearly every day this month to demand CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s ⁠resignation over the revisions, which critics say favour Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Thousands joined a protest march on Monday, after a clampdown ‌foiled CJP plans for a weekend demonstration. Earlier, police detained thousands of protesters, including CJP leaders, over the weekend.

Following the mass detentions, Human Rights Watch urged the government to stop “the ill-treatment” and “arbitrary” arrests of protesters and to allow people to protest peacefully.

“The Modi government should stop throwing young protesters in jail and instead engage with them to address concerns over the right to vote and fairness of elections,” Elaine Pearson, HRW’s Asia director, said in a statement on Tuesday.

“Peaceful protest and freedom of expression are fundamental rights protected under the international human rights law that India’s leaders claim to uphold,” she added.