Police Arrest Leaders of India's 'Cockroach' Movement at New Delhi Protest

Volunteers of the Cockroach Janta Party were arrested after entering the site of a public protest that authorities had banned.

Police in India's capital arrested leaders of the country's youth-led Sosri movement after they jumped over barriers to enter a popular protest site in New Delhi while demanding the resignation of the country's Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) over a revision of the voter list.

Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders Ashutosh Ranka, Saurav Das and Ajinkya Shinde were among about 20 volunteers who "sneaked" into Jantar Mantar to "reclaim" the protest site and were arrested on Tuesday.

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Supporters of the CJP and opposition parties have held protests almost every day this month demanding the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar over the revisions, which critics say favor Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Thousands of people joined a protest march on Monday after a crackdown thwarted the CJP's plans for a weekend demonstration. Earlier, police detained thousands of protesters, including CJP leaders, over the weekend.

Delhi Police announced on Monday that the Jantar Mantar open-air astronomical observatory has no longer been designated as an official protest site and three new locations have been identified for protests.

However, CJP leaders and supporters continued to protest at Jantar Mantar and were arrested.

"You cannot show resistance," CJP founder Abhijit Deepke said after their arrest on X-Day.

A video posted on his account shows about a dozen volunteers jumping over gates and barriers to reach the venue, waving the Indian flag and chanting slogans as police arrived and arrested them.

Deepke said in his previous post that the government's efforts to block the site will do nothing to stop their campaign.

"If Modi thinks he will end the protests by removing Jantar Mantar, he is wrong. Jantar Mantar is not just a place but a spirit of resistance that no one can destroy," he said.

The youth-led movement, which has mobilized protests in recent months on a variety of issues, is one of the biggest political challenges for the BJP and Modi in his 12 years in power.

The Election Commission has denied favoring any party with its revisions to the voter list, saying that voters who were wrongly removed can re-register.