Police register case over threat during CJP bail proceedings

Delhi Police registered a case against unidentified people after a Special Executive Magistrate reported receiving threats during bail proceedings for Cockroach Janta Party leaders Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das, while the party alleged the hearing was being delayed. A senior police officer said the magistrate filed a complaint and that an FIR was registered in New Delhi district under criminal-intimidation provisions. Another report described an earlier non-cognisable report, but the supplied accounts do not establish how that record relates to the FIR. Police accounts do not identify the alleged sender or provide details of the message. The bail hearing was scheduled for Sunday, October 18. CJP spokesperson Ratna Singh said she had been waiting since 11 a.m. for a noon hearing and alleged the magistrate had not arrived by late afternoon. She also claimed four proposed sureties were rejected on vague grounds and that discussion of the alleged threat diverted attention from the bail applications. Those claims have not been independently established in the reports. The party said it believed the proceedings were delaying the leaders’ release. On Saturday, it said it had...