An Indian court mandated the release of three leaders associated with the viral “cockroach” movement on Sunday, according to their legal representative. This decision came just one day after the activists were taken into custody in anticipation of demonstrations concerning alleged discrepancies in voter registration updates.
Abhijeet Dipke, the founder of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), is among those released, along with Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka. The detention occurred on Saturday ahead of a major planned protest against the country’s Chief Election Commissioner.
Ratna Singh, the lawyer for the trio, confirmed the release via a social media post. “Executive Magistrate court releases Abhijeet, Saurav (Das) and Ashutosh (Ranka),” Singh wrote on October 11, 2026.
The movement gained significant traction online, drawing attention to electoral concerns. The leaders had been held prior to the scheduled demonstration, which sought to address allegations of irregularities within the election commission’s processes.
Cockroach Janta Party? That is definitely the most memorable political brand I have seen in India recently.
One day detention is barely a blip. If the government is this nervous about a protest, maybe they should fix the irregularities first.
Interesting that they chose such a provocative name for the party. Hope this brings real focus to voter roll issues.