The Delhi Police Crime Branch has summoned Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) co-convenors Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka for questioning on Thursday, October 22, barely a day after they walked out of Tihar Jail.
The two have been asked to appear at the Crime Branch office in Rajouri Garden at 12 noon to record their statements in two cases linked to their October 13 entry into Jantar Mantar, according to India Today. Police sources told the outlet that CJP member Ajinkya Shinde has also been summoned.
Das and Ranka were taken into custody on Tuesday, October 13, after they allegedly climbed over a locked gate to enter Jantar Mantar, which Delhi Police had earlier denotified as a designated protest site. They were initially sent to five days of judicial custody.
Police allege the group crossed barricades and got in through a private establishment before personnel stepped in. Videos shared by the party showed members waving the national flag at the site.
Two FIRs, one probe
The first First Information Report (FIR), registered at Connaught Place police station, invokes disobedience of an order promulgated by a public servant, house trespass and criminal conspiracy under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The second, registered at Parliament Street police station, alleges obstruction and assault of public servants and causing hurt to police personnel.
Both cases have been handed to the Crime Branch, which is now investigating the CJP leaders’ attempt to enter the site.
Release on bonds
Das and Ranka were released on Wednesday, October 21, after a Special Executive Magistrate (SEM) rejected Delhi Police’s plea to extend their judicial custody by three days, India Today reported. The same day, the two withdrew from the Delhi High Court their petition challenging the earlier extension of their custody by an SEM. The remand had been ordered by a newly appointed SEM at Mandir Marg police station on Monday, October 19, till October 21.
The magistrate ordered their release on personal bonds and sureties of Rs 50,000 each, along with written undertakings to maintain peace. They also agreed not to call for protests at Jantar Mantar as long as it remains denotified, and to keep future protests within the constitutional framework.
Police had moved against them after proceedings over an alleged breach of earlier peace bonds, which the two had furnished after being detained at the Indira Gandhi International Airport on October 10, ahead of a planned protest.
The CJP leaders are demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and the deletion of voters’ names. The Election Commission has denied any wrongdoing.
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