Indian police hold thousands as youth protests over voter rolls spread
Police shut the Jantar Mantar protest site and a court jailed two Cockroach Janta Party leaders for five days, while the Supreme Court will hear Rahul Gandhi's petition seeking an independent audit of voter deletions.
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What happened
Youth-led Cockroach Janta Party protesters are clashing with authorities over a contentious voter list revision and the conduct of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. After the government withdrew protest-site status from Jantar Mantar, party leaders Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das were remanded to five days of judicial custody for trespassing there. The latest figures show thousands of protesters detained in New Delhi and Mumbai, while the Supreme Court is expected to hear opposition leader Rahul Gandhi's petition seeking an independent audit of voter deletions.
Why it matters
Critics say the crackdown is constricting voter freedoms and the space for democratic dissent. A U.S. lawmaker, Pramila Jayapal, has raised concern about India's voter-roll purge of 130 million people.
Timeline
- Oct 14, 2:01 AM ET: A court remanded CJP leaders Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das to five-day judicial custody for trespassing at Jantar Mantar, which the Centre had denotified as a protest site.
- Oct 14, 9:21 PM ET: Ajinkya Shinde was bound down, while 14 party members were reported to have allegedly trespassed into Jantar Mantar and obstructed police on duty.
- Oct 14, 9:42 PM ET: The Supreme Court was likely to hear Rahul Gandhi and INDIA bloc leaders' plea against the voter-list revision that day.
- Oct 15, 4:00 AM ET: Indian authorities had detained thousands of Cockroach movement protesters in New Delhi and Mumbai.
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