Protesters seeking India election chief's ouster detained, as 'cockroach' leaders released

NEW DELHI: Police detained hundreds of protesters in Delhi for a second day on Sunday (Oct 11) as sporadic protests broke out demanding India's election chief quit, and a court ordered the release of "cockroach" movement founder Abhijeet Dipke and two other senior leaders.

Dipke and the other Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders were detained when their plane landed in Delhi on Saturday as the movement planned to gather thousands of people at Jantar Mantar in Central Delhi.

The court ordered their release with an undertaking to "maintain public peace", the CJP said in a statement.

"Cockroaches never die," the group posted on its X account shortly after Dipke's release.

Youth protesters, many of them from student organisations affiliated with India's communist parties, launched sporadic protests around the city on Sunday afternoon before police detained them and hauled them away in vehicles.

The All India Students' Association alleged in a post on X that those detained were assaulted by police inside the vehicles.

A video posted on X by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) showed one of its lawmakers, John Brittas, being helped from a bus to an autorickshaw as he appeared to be in distress.

Reuters could not verify claims about detainees being assaulted by police.

The Delhi Police spokesperson did not respond to calls made by Reuters to seek comment.

The youth movement is one of the biggest political challenges to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his 12 years in power, during which his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has repeatedly swept the polls and eliminated any serious challenge by opponents, including the Congress Party.

The protesters are calling for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over a revision of voter lists that critics say disproportionately benefits Modi.