The three CJP leaders were detained early Tuesday morning after they entered Jantar Mantar, which has now been denotified as a venue for demonstrations, and raised slogans demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.
A group of around 14 party members allegedly used a narrow lane to reach the JD(U) office premises adjacent to Jantar Mantar and climbed over its locked boundary wall to access the protest site. Security personnel deployed at the barricades detained them soon after they entered the premises. Police said the leaders were taken to Jafarpur Kalan police station, where a case was registered over the alleged unauthorised entry.
Cockroaches with the Tiranga sneaked into Jantar Mantar early this morning before they were picked up by Delhi Police. @AshutoshRanka, @SauravDassss, @AjinkyaCJP along with other team members have been detained. You cannot denotify the resistance, @narendramodi https://t.co/x7B40akCVO
— Abhijeet Dipke (@abhijeet_dipke) October 13, 2026
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Allegations Against The Leaders
The Delhi Police described the action as a preventive arrest, saying it was taken to prevent a possible breach of peace after the three leaders entered the restricted protest venue. Officials said allegations include trespassing, violation of earlier bond conditions and obstruction of public servants.
Preventive arrest allows police to detain a person without a warrant to prevent a cognizable offence or breach of peace. Under this provision, the detained persons cannot be held beyond 24 hours without a magistrate’s order.
CJP Claims Arrest, Cites ‘Orders From Above’
The party’s lawyer, Ratna Singh, said in a post on X that Das and Ranka had been arrested after “sneaking” into Jantar Mantar. She alleged that the leaders faced charges including trespass, bond violation and obstruction of public officials’ duty.
The CJP also questioned the timing and manner of the police action, claiming that its leaders were taken to the Parliament Street police station and that their phones were removed, limiting contact with lawyers. The party described the action as politically motivated and said it appeared to have been carried out on “orders from above.”
#WATCH | Delhi: Ratna Singh, Head of Legal Affairs, CJP, says, "We are currently witnessing the Delhi Police operating according to a specific 'rulebook', one dictated by orders from above. They set the law aside to follow this rulebook. We saw how people who went to Jantar Mantar, simply to hoist the Tiranga, were detained. It has been nearly 24 hours, yet they have not been allowed to meet any lawyers, nor have they been initially informed of the grounds for their detention or arrest. While the grounds for arrest were eventually disclosed, the issue remains that the Delhi Police is acting arbitrarily in the current climate. They denied access not only to ordinary volunteers but also to lawyers who had been present since morning. The SHOs and other officers on site kept insisting they were acting under orders from above. Who, then, is issuing these orders to the Delhi Police, orders that override the law itself?... Meanwhile, we see criminals roaming freely, wandering the city, assaulting people, yet peaceful protesters are being stopped. Designated protest sites are being 'de-notified,' and people visiting these public spaces are being detained without explanation and held in custody for extended periods. This clearly demonstrates the prevailing atmosphere in Delhi, where arbitrary actions are the norm, and the government is acting at its own whim. The Delhi Police is being used as a puppet, and they are dealing very harshly with peaceful protesters, which is not right. Furthermore, the recent arrests are illegal; no information was provided, and none of the alleged offenses cited in the charges actually took place. I believe this is merely a tactic to frame people, a way to intimidate them so they do not protest. But they are mistaken; they cannot stop protesters by invoking such sections or detaining them in this manner."
— ANI (@ANI) October 13, 2026
Delhi Police, however, maintained that all legal procedures were followed and reiterated that the three were placed under preventive arrest.
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Earlier Detention And Bail Conditions
This is not the first time the Delhi Police has taken preventive action against the CJP leadership. Das, Ranka and party founder Abhijeet Dipke were earlier detained from the Indira Gandhi International Airport and kept under preventive arrest for 24 hours before being released on Sunday.
Their release was subject to a condition that they would not engage in any activity likely to disturb public peace for one year. The court had also demanded a peace bond of ₹50,000 under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).