Top Indian 'cockroach' leaders sent to jail over trespassing

• A video posted online by Dipke on Tuesday showed the duo clambering over barricades at Jantar Mantar street.

Security personnel detain a student activist during a protest demanding the resignation of the nation's Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged voter roll irregularities linked to the "special intensive revision" (SIR), in New Delhi on October 13, 2026. (Photo by Arun SANKAR / AFP)

Two top leaders of India's youth-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) were sent to jail for five days on Wednesday for alleged trespassing, the party said.

Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das "have been sent to five days judicial custody", CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke said in a social media post.

Das and Ranka were detained on Tuesday for entering Jantar Mantar, a day after Delhi Police announced that the Jantar Mantar street in the heart of the capital had been taken off the list of designated official protest sites.

A video posted online by Dipke on Tuesday showed the duo clambering over barricades at Jantar Mantar street, running into an empty space and waving the national flag -- before police chased and detained them.

Supporters of the online movement and opposition parties have taken to the streets in recent days, demanding the resignation of the head of India's election commission, accusing it of manipulating voter rolls to benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling party.

The Election Commission of India, which oversees the voting process in the world's most populous nation, has denied any wrongdoing.

The site has been sealed off for several days by yellow metal barricades and guarded by a heavy police presence.

Dipke on Wednesday defended Das and Ranka, saying they were being punished just for "unfurling tricolour at Jantar Mantar.

"Show some guts, @narendramodi," he said.