India’s Cockroach Janta leaders vow to keep protesting for election chief’s resignation after release as Supreme Court challenges detention curbs

Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke and two other leaders were released on Sunday, a day after police detained them upon their arrival in New Delhi for a planned protest. The movement said it would continue demonstrations demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar; its legal director said the three were released on condition they commit no breach of peace for a year.

The protests oppose a nationwide revision of voter rolls that critics say could benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling party. The Election Commission of India has denied wrongdoing. CJP leader Saurav Das urged supporters to continue peaceful protests until Kumar resigns, while Dipke, after his release, called Modi “an embarrassment to India.” The group and media reports said thousands of people had been detained since Saturday.

Authorities deployed a major security operation ahead of the planned rally, restricting public gatherings and disrupting metro and train services. On Sunday, the Supreme Court directed authorities not to illegally detain peaceful protesters and said internet access should remain undisturbed. Reporters Without Borders condemned as unacceptable the detention of at least 16 journalists.

The UN human rights office called for the immediate release of all arbitrarily detained people. India’s government dismissed the office’s remarks as misplaced.

The Election Commission has said the voter-roll revision is intended to remove duplicate and ineligible entries. Critics of the exercise contend that it could disenfranchise voters and benefit Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party.