NEW DELHI: Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke on Monday shared a picture of group leaders Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das after a court extended their judicial custody by two days.Dipke said Ranka and Das entered the court with "smiles on their faces" and their spirits "unbroken.""Ashu and Saurav's first crime was waving the Tiranga at Jantar Mantar. Their second crime? Refusing to back down. Even after five days in jail, they walked into court with smiles on their faces, their spirits unbroken," Dipke wrote on X, sharing a photo of Ranka and Das being brought to court.
The duo was taken into custody on October 13 after they and some CJP supporters entered Jantar Mantar, a day after Delhi Police denotified the venue as the capital's designated protest site and identified three alternative venues for demonstrations in the city.Along with other CJP workers, they waved the national flag at the site and raised slogans against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar before being detained and placed under preventive arrest.The following day, a special executive magistrate (SEM) remanded Ranka and Das to five days of judicial custody.
On Monday, Delhi Police sought an extension of their judicial custody and the court sent them to jail for two more days.
They will now be produced on Wednesday.On Sunday, the special Executive Magistrate, hearing their bail matter, had claimed that unknown persons were threatening him, following which the police registered a non-cognisable report. This prompted Dipke to alleged that the government was "deliberately" prolonging the "illegal arrest" of Ranka and Das."The state is deliberately prolonging Ashu and Saurav's illegal arrest by using every dirty trick in the book to delay court proceedings and prevent their. They have no legal grounds to keep them behind bars, so they are resorting to delaying tactics to keep them there," Dipke posted on X.(With PTI inputs)
Karan Manral is a journalist at the Times of India. He covers politics, social issues, and international affairs, exploring stories that affect people’s everyday lives. He also writes explainers to make these stories easier for readers to follow.