New Delhi cracks down hard on 'Cockroach' protest: Election Commission controversy sparks youth movement, thousands detained, internet cut off, city locked down

According to France 24 citing AFP, Indian police on Saturday detained the founder of the satirical online movement "Cockroach Janta Party," Abhijit Dipuk, along with two other movement leaders in New Delhi and took them to an "undisclosed location." The three were taken away after their flight landed in New Delhi and before they could disembark. A statement issued by the organization said the three had been "denied access to lawyers and cut off from all contact with the outside world."

The demonstration marks the culmination of weeks of mobilization targeting Election Commission chairman Gyanesh Kumar. Protesters are demanding Kumar's resignation and an end to the nationwide voter list revision launched in 2025. According to Indian media citing Election Commission data, more than 133 million people have been struck from the draft rolls. The Election Commission claims the revision aims to eliminate duplicate and ineligible voters and prevent "foreign illegal immigrants" from voting. Opposition parties and critics have alleged that the revision process is tainted by irregularities that could disenfranchise millions of voters and benefit Prime Minister Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Critics have also noted that the round of revisions has disproportionately hit marginalized groups and minority communities. The Election Commission insists that all decisions were taken "unanimously and lawfully."

Faced with a wave of protests, authorities deployed thousands of police officers in New Delhi, closed dozens of metro stations, cancelled more than 200 trains, and temporarily shut down mobile internet services around the protest landmark Jantar Mantar. "Cockroach Janta Party" leader Akanksha Hinder, speaking at a press conference in New Delhi, said "more than 15,000 protesters have been detained" and declared, "We will come back, let them fill the prisons." Police did not immediately respond to AFP's request for comment on the scale of the detentions. The Hindu newspaper reported that more than 5,000 people had been detained — the exact figure could not be verified. AFP journalists witnessed dozens of protesters shouting anti-government slogans as they were loaded onto police vehicles.

Amnesty International condemned the "lockdown-style restrictive measures" imposed by the authorities. The UN Human Rights Office called on India to release protesters held in "arbitrary detention" and expressed concern over reports of mass detentions. According to media reports by Scroll and Newslaundry, their journalists were also briefly detained. Opposition Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi posted on social media: "The youth of India, I am proud of you. Keep protesting, we stand with you."

A 24-year-old university graduate who gave only his first name, "Saransh," walked several miles and passed through security barricades to reach Jantar Mantar. He told AFP: "I came here to protect the Constitution. Why do I need permission to express my views peacefully?"

Ruling party spokesperson Sambit Patra on Saturday sought to characterize the protest as a failed "anarchy" attempt by the "Cockroach Janta Party." He told reporters: "What happened at Jantar Mantar, what you saw on television and on a few social media accounts, is not India's story."

Political analyst Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay told AFP that the protests erupted at a time when 76-year-old Modi, in his third term, "appears to be at his weakest moment, both politically and personally." Although India's next national election is not until 2029, the most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, will hold local elections next year. "I think this will pose a bigger challenge in the coming months," Mukhopadhyay said.