CJP leaders Saurav Das, Ashutosh Ranka appear before Delhi Police in Jantar Mantar trespassing cases

You don’t have any Active Subscription.

Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription

Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das speak to the media while leaving the Crime Branch office after being summoned by the agency to join the investigation in New Delhi on Thursday. | Photo Credit: ANI

Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) co-conveners Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka appeared before the Delhi Police Crime Branch in Rajouri Garden on Thursday (November 5, 2026) after being summoned for questioning in connection with cases linked to trespass into the denotified Jantar Mantar protest site in October.

After appearing before the investigators, Mr. Ranka said the two leaders will cooperate with the probe. “Today’s questioning was part of a routine investigation into the events of October 13. We will fully cooperate with any investigation being conducted by any agency. Unfurling the national flag at Jantar Mantar or on any public road should not be considered a crime. We are confident that the investigation will be conducted in good faith,” he told the media.

Responding to allegations of foreign funding against the CJP, Mr. Das dismissed them as baseless and accused groups associated with the right wing of running a campaign to discredit the movement.

“The allegation is baseless. We have been asking for the basis of these allegations since before our first protest on June 6. Our first press conference was held on June 3, and since then, we have repeatedly asked the authorities to provide evidence to support their claims. Four or five months have passed, but no basis has been presented,” he said.

He also criticised the repetition of the allegations by a senior Union Minister, calling it a shame that what he described as propaganda was being given further credence by those in government.

The two leaders had earlier been arrested and sent to judicial custody after entering the denotified Jantar Mantar protest site and waving the national flag with 12 other persons on October 13. The police had also said that their actions violated a peace bond they had signed on October 11.

Two FIRs were registered at the Connaught Place and Parliament Street police stations on October 13.

The cases were subsequently transferred to the Crime Branch, which had summoned the two leaders for questioning on October 22. They had sought additional time before appearing on Thursday.

The two leaders were released from Tihar jail on October 21 after furnishing personal bonds and surety bonds of ₹50,000 each. Special Executive Magistrate Ritu Raj ordered their release on the condition that the bonds would remain in force until the conclusion of the inquiry into the Jantar Mantar trespassing case.

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.