'Phones taken, lawyer not allowed': CJP's claims against Delhi cops after Das, Ranka detained

CJP's legal head Ratna Singh alleged that Das, Ranka and other leaders have not been allowed to meet with legal representatives.

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Hours after Cockroach Janta Party's Saurav Das, Ashutosh Ranka and Ajinkya Shinde, among others, were detained on Tuesday morning, the pressure group has claimed that the leaders have not been allowed to meet lawyers.

Taking to X, CJP's legal head Ratna Singh alleged that Das, Ranka and other leaders, who are detained at Jaffarpur Kalan police station, have not been allowed to meet with legal representatives. She also added that their phones have been taken away. Track LIVE updates on Delhi protests here

"The SHO of Jaffarpur Kalan police station has refused to let the lawyer meet them, while their phones have been confiscated, raise serious concerns. Under what legal authority are they being detained and why is their lawyer being denied access?" Singh wrote on social media.

On Tuesday morning, CJP's co-convenors Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were detained by the Delhi Police after entering Jantar Mantar by jumping the locked gates, a day after the site lost its designated protest venue status.

Ranka shared a video on his X handle, showing him and Das, along with Shinde, climbing over the locked gates of Jantar Mantar and entering the venue before police personnel present there intervened and took them into custody.

Speaking to HT earlier, a senior police officer claimed that Das and Ranka came with at least 10 more people and managed to enter Jantar Mantar carrying the national flag to protest against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.

Also Read | Jantar Mantar gone, Delhi's 3 new protest sites come with cost, booking, distance woes

Sharing a video of the incident, Saurav Das said that the CJP has "reclaimed the site".

“In less than 24 hours of Jantar Mantar being denotified as a designated protest site, we reclaimed it. This is a message to the government - hands off people's Jantar Mantar! Gyanu's time is over," Das wrote on social media.

CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke hailed the breach of Jantar Mantar, stating that the resistance cannot be "de-notified."

The Delhi Police issued a circular on Monday, which de-notified Jantar Mantar as a designated protest site. The circular further listed three new sites — Ramlila Maidan, Burari Ground and CBD Ground as designated protest sites. With this, the Lutyens' Delhi site, where CJP led a mega stir in June and July that led to the resignation of education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, is now off limits.

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  Danita Yadav is a Senior Content Producer at Hindustan Times. Based in New Delhi, Danita serves as a pivotal voice in international reportage in the team. Operating under the mandate of delivering "without the noise", Danita excels at distilling complex geopolitical developments into lucid, objective narratives which prioritise factual accuracy over sensationalism. In HT, Danita has been recognised for her breaking news efforts and time-bound coverage of the Air India crash, which has driven over 2 million users to the website through trusted, factual coverage of the incident. Thriving in high-pressure editorial environments, Danita has also cultivated a reputation for navigating the nuances of global diplomacy and cross-border policy. With over four years of experience in the journalism industry, Danita has spent her years diving deep into the coverage of international relations and global conflicts. She has previously worked with the news teams at Outlook India and Times Network, covering a wide range of beats and topics, from education curricula and student protests to Indian politics and international conflicts such as the Ukraine, Gaza, and Sudan wars. Danita earned her Bachelor's Degree in Journalism from Kamala Nehru College, University of Delhi. Beyond the newsroom and her love for international relations, you'll find Danita 'geeking' out over books, music and BTS. Her appreciation for global pop culture and storytelling also added to her unique perspective on the "soft power" dynamics that increasingly have shaped international relations in the ever-changing global order.Read More