India court orders release of 'cockroach' movement leaders after detention

The leaders of India's youth-led online "cockroach" movement were released on Sunday, their lawyer said, a day after they were detained to thwart a major protest against the election commissioner. Thousands of protesters were detained before Saturday's planned demonstration in New Delhi, according to the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which called on supporters to keep taking to the streets despite strict security measures. Saturday's rally was meant to be the culmination of weeks of opposition mobilisation following allegations of misconduct during a nationwide voter roll revision, demanding the resignation of the head of the Election Commission of India. CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke and two other leaders were detained before they could disembark from their flight, after arriving in the capital from Mumbai. Ratna Singh, the CJP's head lawyer, said in a social media post that Dipke and the others had been released by an executive magistrate's court. She said they had been released on the condition that they made "no breach of peace for one year". Lawyer Ratna Singh announced the release of three leaders of the "cockroach" movement on social media on October 11, 2026. © Screenshot, X Di...