Key facts
- Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), was arrested.
- The protest aimed to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
- Critics accuse the Election Commission of manipulating voter lists to favor Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP.
- Thousands of police and paramilitary personnel were deployed in Delhi.
- Over 2,000 protesters were detained in the capital.
Police arrested Abhijeet Dipke, founder of India's "cockroach" movement, on Saturday, according to media reports, after he was detained on Friday. The arrests occurred as authorities sought to prevent a protest demanding the resignation of India's election chief over alleged voter list manipulation. Thousands of police and paramilitary personnel were deployed across Delhi, with mobile internet services suspended in the central business district and dozens of metro stations and markets shuttered. Over 2,000 people were detained in the capital, and smaller protests broke out elsewhere. Dipke's detention follows previous arrests of movement leaders, some of whom were sent to jail earlier in the week. The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) accuses India's Election Commission of manipulating voter lists to favor Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling BJP, allegations that both the commission and the BJP deny.