Delhi court sends two CJP leaders to five days’ custody

A Delhi court sent Cockroach Janta Party leaders Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das to five days of judicial custody on October 14, following their entry into Jantar Mantar, according to the party’s legal head, Ratna Singh. Party member Ajinkya Shinde was released on a personal bond of Rs 5,000, Singh said. The three activists had been detained after entering the site on October 13, a day after Jantar Mantar was removed from Delhi’s list of designated protest venues. Delhi Police filed a First Information Report alleging unauthorised entry by CJP leaders and members, according to police accounts. The allegations have not been adjudicated by a court. Singh said the police also cited alleged violation of a peace bond and obstruction of a public official. Ranka and Das had been released by an executive magistrate on October 11 on a condition to maintain peace for a year, reports said. Singh said all three activists faced the same grounds of arrest, though the court ordered custody for Ranka and Das and released Shinde on bond. CJP members entered the recently denotified site by crossing a gate or barricade, according to accounts and video described in reports.