Actor Imran Khan among hundreds detained at Mumbai protest backing ‘Cockroach rally’

Police in India’s Mumbai detained a descendant of Mahatma Gandhi, Bollywood actor Imran Khan and a lawmaker from a former BJP allied party as they joined the youth-led Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) in demonstrations against alleged electoral irregularities.

Following the arrest of youth leaders and key opposition figures, climate activist Sonam Wangchuk condemned the situation as “an undeclared emergency” and threated to launch a “peaceful protest” like a hunger strike, sit-in or a protest march, demanding the release of all key detainees within 24 hours.

As the Delhi Police took Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke off his flight at the airport on Saturday morning, the Mumbai Police were sealing off August Kranti Maidan, where protesters had planned to gather in support of the CJP’s Jantar Mantar demonstration in New Delhi.

By evening, hundreds had been detained at Nana Chowk, and the ground from which the Quit India movement was launched in 1942 lay empty behind three rings of barricades and over 500 police personnel.

The gathering had been called by Tushar Gandhi, great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and president of Hum Bharat Ke Log, who posted a poster on X on Friday appealing to Mumbaikars to join him at the maidan in support of the CJP’s demand for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

Gandhi never got there. He and his associates were detained in Bandra on their way to the ground and taken to the DN Nagar police station.

Hundreds of protestors, including Tushar Gandhi’s granddaughter Kasturi Gandhi, Imran Khan, and Varun Sardesai – a lawmaker from the once-staunch BJP ally Shiv Sena UBT – were detained.

Wangchuk’s threat

Condemning Saturday’s detentions, climate activist Sonam Wangchuk said he hoped the BJP-led government would resolve the issues through dialogue. “I had never imagined that the biggest democracy in the world would be under an undeclared Emergency. I was happy there were so many leaders to lead the movement, but I now learn that they have all been arrested. I hope those arrested will be released soon. I will be compelled to consider an Anshan Fast or Padyatra March if they are not released by tomorrow”.

Wangchuk had expressed his inability to join the protests in Delhi on Friday. “There are sorrows in the world other than politics and governance, and comforts other than the joy of union with a beloved,” he wrote on Friday, adding, “Hence, I send my best wishes to all and urge the leaders of different groups to stay united and show statesmanship. Meanwhile, I urge all the Gen Z friends to once again stay absolutely peaceful at all costs.

Wangchuk was at the forefront of the June protests at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, where he went on a fast demanding the resignation of then Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the medical test paper leak controversy. His fast drew support from students, activists and opposition leaders, bringing wider attention to the agitation.

Mumbai protest

Protesters began trickling in by 3pm anyway. The streets leading to the maidan had three layers of barricades, each about 100 metres apart, and each manned by nearly 50 police personnel who stopped and questioned pedestrians and diverted traffic. The final barricade was at Nana Chowk. That’s where protesters, shouting for Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation, were detained, bundled into about six police vans and taken to nearby police stations.

“We had our political science examination in college. We completed our exam papers quickly and came here to join in the protests. When we reached the station, we saw that there is police deployment after every few metres. When we finally reached near the entry side of August Kranti Maidan, a police officer stopped us and started asking us about our college, where we had come from and threatened us by calling out the female officers to detain us,” said Falak Shaikh, 17, who came from Malad.

Her friend Zoya Sheikh said they had attended the CJP’s Shivaji Park protest earlier, but Saturday’s scrutiny was far tighter.

Lata Tendulkar, who came from Thane, said she was hurt when police tried to detain her. Pointing to scratches on her arm, she said, “We had been simply standing near the spot when the police started detaining innocent protesters. When we started recording, some female officers came in and started pulling at us. We resisted and questioned how we could be detained just for standing. But the police personnel kept on pulling at us and we could only be rescued after some people intervened. My sister and I were left with scratches while the police pressure damaged our friend’s spectacles.”

Into the evening, protesters carrying posters, flags and copies of the Constitution kept arriving in the Grant Road area and trying to reach the maidan. None made it. Additional and Deputy Commissioners of Police were on the ground overseeing the arrangements. The barricades brought traffic at Nana Chowk to a crawl as motorists were diverted.

In Delhi, the Delhi Police had denied permission for the Jantar Mantar protest, citing security concerns and an application filed on 7 October against a 10-day notice period. Over 2,000 people had been detained by 3pm, among them Dipke and CJP spokespersons Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, picked up from their aircraft, Mamata Banerjee outside her Delhi residence, Pinarayi Vijayan near Kerala House, and Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan on a march towards Dilli Haat. Over 250 trains were cancelled till 2pm and restrictions hit more than 40 metro stations. Dipke, whose grandmother died in Hingoli on Saturday, was given the option of staying in detention or travelling to Maharashtra.