Delhi police detain thousands as youth "Cockroach" protest against voter list changes

Police in New Delhi intervened on Saturday to stop a planned protest by the youth-led "Cockroach" movement, detaining dozens of organizers and thousands of participants before the demonstration could begin at Jantar Mantar. Authorities set up checkpoints on routes into the capital, searched vehicles, barricaded the protest site and deployed anti-riot units equipped with tear-gas launchers. Mobile internet access was also restricted in parts of the city.

The police said the protest had been denied permission because the application was submitted late. Several movement leaders – Abhijeet Dipke, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka – were arrested after arriving at Delhi airport, according to a video posted by the group on X. The movement described the pre-emptive arrests as an attempt to cripple peaceful demonstrations.

Despite the restrictions, some protesters breached police cordons, chanting slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and election officials before being taken into custody. One student protester, Tanya Negi, said, "We are a democracy, yet peaceful protests are being crushed by force. Shouldn’t we fight for our rights?"

Opposition lawmakers also criticized the crackdown, with one legislator stating, "Is there a democracy in this country? A total siege over the city. Citizens are being driven out," before being detained himself.

The protests focus on the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision, which the opposition claims has removed more than 130 million names from voter lists, allegedly disenfranchising supporters of parties opposed to Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party. The commission and the government maintain the revision is intended to eliminate duplicate and ineligible entries. The dispute has become a rallying point for the "Cockroach" movement, which previously organized sit-ins and hunger strikes over alleged exam paper leaks that led to the resignation of the education minister in July.