'Cockroach' leader to face court over call for protest

RTHK - Oct 17, 2026

Indian "cockroach" movement founder Abhijeet Dipke has been arrested, according to several media reports on Saturday, after he was detained on Friday ahead of a Delhi ⁠rally that drew hundreds of people waving the national flag and demanding the resignation of India's election chief. Dipke was arrested to prevent a breach of the peace and will be called before a court, broadcasters NDTV and India Today said early on Saturday. The broadcasters did not give a court date. The youth-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), ⁠opposition groups and student organisations have held near-daily protests ⁠this month demanding Chief Election ⁠Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation over a revision of voter lists that they say favours Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya ⁠Janata Party (BJP). More than 130 million voters were deleted during the revision. The Election Commission has denied favouring any party and said wrongly deleted voters can re-enrol. The BJP has accused rivals of trying to undermine democracy by wrongly questioning legitimate electoral processes. Dipke was detained on Friday as he stepped out of a house in central Delhi, with police hauling him into a police car and driving away after a brief argument. Dipke had called Friday's protest in support of two CJP leaders detained...

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