The founder of India's "Cockroach" party was arrested before the protest

The youth-led movement has planned fresh protests in Delhi after last week's mass arrests and the jailing of two leaders.

By Zoya Mateen, Azadeh Moshiri and Vikas Pandey BBC News, Delhi

Abhijit Deepke, the founder of India's Susk protest movement, was arrested in Delhi ahead of a planned march in the heart of the capital.

His arrest follows a police warning against Friday's march, with thousands of security forces deployed across the city to prevent the gathering.

Deepke Youth-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) is demanding the resignation of India's election chief over allegations of electoral roll manipulation. The Election Commission denies this charge.

The group had asked supporters to come to a park in Connaught Place, one of Delhi's busiest commercial areas, to raise the Indian flag.

The turnout was lower than previous CJP rallies, although the crowd seemed to be growing. The BBC observed that a number of young protesters were detained and thrown onto a bus that had already contained a number of women detainees - there were about 50 female police personnel on the bus, far outnumbering the protesters.

Deepke had just left the house and was moments away from reaching her vehicle when the BBC saw police officers surround her and force her into a police car. Some CJP supporters tried to block the car from leaving.

Opposition politician Anish Gawande, at whose house Deepke was staying, questioned why the police detained her. The police have not yet publicly confirmed the reasons for the arrest.

"A man who walks with only the national flag in his hand is a bit of a joke," said Taqif al-Fagaunde.

This was the second time in less than a week that Deepke was arrested. Last Saturday, police boarded his plane shortly after landing in Delhi and took him away before he arrived at a planned protest.

Police barriers and mass arrests prevented thousands of other protesters from reaching the venue. Deepke was released the next day, but two other CJP leaders - Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka - were jailed for five days after they entered Jantar Mantar, a protest site recently declared off-limits by the police.

Friday's march was partly to show solidarity with the two imprisoned leaders.

Deepke had confirmed the possibility of re-arrest. In a video message on Thursday, he asked fans who cannot travel to Delhi to fly the Indian flag in their towns and cities.

I might end up in jail after this, but I'm not worried. Three colors are my pride and I will raise it."

Earlier on Friday, the police issued a notice warning Deepke against holding a rally without permission.

Authorities also closed Central Park for two days for "administrative reasons." The police offered to allow a small group to hoist the national flag and sing the national anthem elsewhere.

When the protest started, about 200-300 people had gathered near the central park. Blocked by the police, they marched around the park waving flags and shouting slogans

Among those detained was Neha Bora, a prominent leader of the left-wing All India Students Association (AISA), who has emerged as one of the faces of the recent protests. He was also arrested during the crackdown last Saturday.

Meanwhile, the security personnel continued to enter. More officers emerged from buses stationed around Kannada, joining the thousands of police and paramilitary personnel already deployed. Journalists also thronged the streets, and the police and media far outnumbered the protesters.

The barely five-month-old CJP was launched as an online campaign in May after India's chief justice likened a number of unemployed youth to cockroaches. Deepke took the insult and turned it into a rallying cry.

By July, the group had become a formidable force, mobilizing thousands of youth to protest over leaked exam papers. A march to parliament in July led to clashes with police, drawing wider attention to the movement and intensifying pressure on the government. The unrest eventually led to the resignation of India's education minister, Dharmendra Pradhan.

In their warning about Friday's march, the police referred to previous demonstrations. In a notice sent to Deepke, they accused the CJP of flouting restrictions and said previous attempts to march towards Parliament had resulted in violence and damage to property.

They also warned that a large gathering in Connaught Place could disrupt traffic, affect businesses and block emergency vehicles.

The CJP wants Election Commission Chairman Gyanesh Kumar to resign and accuses the poll body of supporting Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Both the commission and the government deny these accusations.

At issue is a massive revision of electoral rolls known as a special intensive review (SIR), which critics say has removed more than 130 million names and put legal voters at risk of losing their right to vote.

Friday's march came less than a week after police prevented the movement from holding its latest mass demonstration, arresting its leaders - Das, Deepke and Ranka - and placing the city under a massive security lockdown.

Tens of thousands of police and paramilitary personnel marched across Delhi, blocking roads, blocking metro stations and intercepting protesters long before they reached Jantar Mantar, where the CJP had planned his massive demonstration.

The BBC witnessed the arrest of dozens of people, including journalists and students. In footage from across Delhi, protesters can be seen screaming as police grab their arms, drag them off the pavement and push them into waiting buses.

Those who managed to gather elsewhere were quickly dispersed. There are also reports of police attacks on protesters.

The BBC has recorded a video of a policeman slapping an arrested protester inside a bus. Delhi Police did not respond to questions about the use of violence against the protesters

The scale of the crackdown sparked widespread outrage, with the CJP likening the police action to the Indian Emergency, when civil liberties were suspended between 1975 and 1977.

Delhi Police defended the necessary measures to maintain public order and prevent unauthorized gatherings.

Deepke, Das and Ranka were released on Sunday after agreeing to keep peace and be of good behaviour.

The police then removed Jantar Mantar from Delhi's list of approved protest sites and designated three alternative sites. Built in the 18th century to study the stars, the observatory is located near Parliament and has long been one of India's best-known stages for public dissent. The CJP accused the authorities of removing the protesters from the seat of power so that their protests would be less visible and ignored.

On Tuesday, Das and Ranka returned with a handful of supporters, waving the Indian flag and chanting slogans against Kumar.

They entered the restricted site without permission, some of them by climbing over a locked gate, breaching the conditions of their release, police said.

The next day, these two people were placed in judicial custody for five days. Another organizer, Ajinkya Shinde, was released on bail to keep the peace and be of good behaviour.

The CJP's campaign comes amid a separate wave of protests by India's opposition parties, which have also accused the Election Commission of manipulating voter rolls in favor of the BJP.

Last week, opposition leader Rahul Gandhi and other lawmakers tried to march to the commission's headquarters in Delhi but were stopped and detained by police. Since then, the opposition politicians took their grievances to President Draupadi Murmu and marched to the Supreme Court.