Three leaders of India’s Cockroach Janata Party have been released after being detained before a planned protest in New Delhi against a controversial revision of voter lists.
Abhijeet Dipke, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were freed on Sunday on condition that they commit to “no breach of peace for one year”, according to Ratna Singh, the movement’s legal director.
It was not clear what the condition means or whether it would affect the three leaders’ ability to take part in further demonstrations. The Cockroach Janata Party is demanding the resignation of India’s election chief.
Police detained the men after boarding their flight from Mumbai when it landed in New Delhi on Saturday. They had been travelling to lead a demonstration in the capital.
The detentions came amid a wider security crackdown in New Delhi. More than 2,000 protesters, including several opposition lawmakers, were detained, while train services to the capital were cancelled, metro stations closed and mobile internet suspended in parts of the city.
Police said most of those detained were released late on Saturday.
After his release, Mr Dipke criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi on X, calling him “an embarrassment to India”. He added: “Never has this country seen a bigger coward and bully.”
