Release confirmed on social media

Indian police released Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke from detention on Saturday, one day after his arrest. News of the cockroach movement founder released from custody came from CJP legal affairs chief Ratna Singh, who announced it on social media.

Dipke left the police station on Saturday afternoon, waving to the media and giving a thumbs up as he was driven away, according to an AFP photographer.

Why Dipke was detained

Dipke, 31, was detained on Friday in New Delhi as he headed to join a CJP rally in the central Connaught Place district. He was picked up as he stepped out of a house in central Delhi, with police hauling him into a police car after a brief argument.

The rally demanded the resignation of India's chief election commissioner, accusing the poll body of manipulating voter rolls to benefit the ruling party. The protesters' specific complaints:

• •More than 130 million voters were deleted during the electoral roll revision, according to the report.
• •The election commission, which oversees voting in the world's most populous nation, has denied any wrongdoing.
• •BJP members have long alleged that large numbers of undocumented Muslim migrants from neighbouring Bangladesh fraudulently entered India's electoral rolls.

Rights groups and critics say the Modi government has eroded democratic freedoms over more than a decade, citing pressure on journalists, civil society groups and political opponents - allegations the government rejects.

Two party leaders still in custody

Dipke had called Friday's protest in support of two CJP leaders, Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das, jailed for demonstrating at a banned site. Ranka and Das were arrested on October 14 after entering Jantar Mantar, a decades-old protest site that police had declared off-limits, and they remain in custody.

After his release, Dipke posted a photo of the two men on X, writing: "Now just waiting for my brothers to be free". On Instagram, he said he "knew going to jail was inevitable" and was ready to face "whatever comes my way". He also wrote: "Because the day I decided to come back to India, I placed my fate in the hands of the people of India and the Constitution of this country."

Bora freed with a demand

Student activist Neha Bora, a prominent face of the protest, was also detained on Friday as she tried to reach central Delhi with dozens of supporters. She was released on Saturday.

Speaking to ANI after her release, Bora said: "Please, spare the people of India. Impeach Gyanesh Kumar and halt SIR (special intensive revision)".

Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das remain in custody following their October 14 arrest at Jantar Mantar.