Delhi Police boarded the Mumbai–Delhi aircraft minutes after landing, taking three Cockroach Janta Party leaders into preventive custody before a protest against the Chief Election Commissioner could begin.
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The Cockroach Janta Party’s planned demonstration at Jantar Mantar was overshadowed on Saturday by the detention of its top leadership, who never got past the airport tarmac.
Founder Abhijeet Dipke and party leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were taken into custody at Indira Gandhi International Airport shortly after their flight from Mumbai landed at around 10:20 am, as reported by Telangana Today. The detention happened on board the aircraft itself, before the trio had disembarked.Police Enter the Aircraft.
ThePrint reported that around two dozen women constables boarded the plane after landing and told the three leaders that permission for their protest had been denied. Eyewitnesses cited by the outlet said the group was then driven off the tarmac in a separate bus.
A video posted by Dipke showed the police team walking into the cabin. Footage of the moment, circulated by inkl, captured slogans of “Inquilab Zindabad” ringing out as officers moved in.The Protest at the Centre of the RowThe CJP had called the demonstration to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, citing alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
Dipke had said beforehand that he was ready to be arrested, a stance noted by The Statesman, which also carried his allegation that the government fears young people who question its decisions.The airport action was part of a wider clampdown.
ThePrint put the number detained across the city at roughly 200 by midday, while Outlook’s live coverage later spoke of heavy deployments and far larger detention figures. Counts differed between outlets and were changing through the day.
Leadership Passes to Ajinkya ShindeBefore being detained, Dipke recorded a message naming the party’s organisation in-charge, Ajinkya Shinde, to lead the Jantar Mantar gathering until the three were released. The CJP’s legal head, according to Outlook, described the detentions and house arrests, his own included, as illegal and demanded the release of all those held.Delhi Police have not publicly detailed how long the leaders will remain in custody or whether any formal charges will follow. Preventive detention in such cases is typically lifted once the planned event has passed.A Familiar PatternSaturday’s episode echoes earlier brushes with the law for the movement. UNI reported that Dipke was briefly held by Mumbai Police at Marine Drive on October 1, a day before the party’s “Mumbai Chalo” protest. The party, launched online in May 2026 as political satire, has since grown into a nationwide youth movement focused on exam irregularities and electoral transparency.
Note: the reports describe the detention as taking place inside the aircraft and on the tarmac after landing, so the headline above uses that wording rather than “runway.” Names follow the spellings used by the outlets cited (Abhijeet Dipke, Saurav Das, Ashutosh Ranka). Details are still developing.
