India's 'Cockroach' protest movement leaders freed from detention, vow to continue demonstrations

Leaders of a popular Indian youth movement vow to continue protests after being released from detentionBySHEIKH SAALIQ Associated PressOctober 11, 2026, 5:14 AMNEW DELHI -- Leaders of a popular Indian youth movement vowed to continue protests Sunday after being released from detention, a day after police cracked down on demonstrations against a controversial revision of voter lists. The movement is demanding the resignation of the country’s election chief.The protests were triggered after authorities removed more than 130 million voters from the list since last year. Critics say the move is politically motivated. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the Election Commission deny manipulation allegations.The Cockroach Janata Party's three leaders — Abhijeet Dipke, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka — were freed on condition that they commit “no breach of peace for one year,” Ratna Singh, the movement's legal director, said in a social media post. It was unclear what the condition meant or whether it would restrict their participation in protests.Police boarded the leaders’ flight from Mumbai after it landed in New Delhi on Saturday and took them into custody as...