Two Cockroach Janta Party leaders freed from Delhi jail after a week in custody

Summary

Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, two leaders of India's Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) movement, have been released after a week in Delhi's Tihar jail. Delhi police arrested them amid a mounting state crackdown on youth-led protests. The Guardian reports that an Indian court ordered their release and that the two had defied restrictions on protests in Delhi. The BBC reports they were accused of breaking into an unauthorised protest venue in Delhi and had called on the election chief to quit. Deutsche Welle reports they were released after pledging not to call for protests at Jantar Mantar, where demonstrators are demanding the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar. Al Jazeera also reports that the two have been released after a week in jail.

Timeline

1. The Guardian

   21 Oct 2026, 15:26 UTCSource ↗

   The Guardian reports that an Indian court ordered the release of Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, two Cockroach movement leaders who spent a week in Delhi's Tihar jail after defying protest restrictions in Delhi.

2. BBC

   21 Oct 2026, 18:22 UTCSource ↗

   The BBC reports that Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, who had called on the election chief to quit, have been freed from jail, where they were held after being accused of breaking into an unauthorised protest venue in Delhi.

3. Al Jazeera

   21 Oct 2026, 19:17 UTCSource ↗

   Al Jazeera reports that Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das, two top leaders of India's Cockroach Party, have been released after a week in jail.

4. Deutsche Welle

   22 Oct 2026, 05:22 UTCSource ↗

   Deutsche Welle reports that Cockroach Janta Party leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were released from Tihar Jail after pledging not to call for protests at Delhi's Jantar Mantar, where demonstrators are demanding the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar.