Indian authorities detained Abhijeet Dipke, leader of the youth-led Cockroach Janata party (CJP), as they sought to prevent an anti-government rally in Delhi on Saturday.
Police boarded Dipke’s plane when it landed at Delhi airport and detained him with other senior figures in the movement. Detentions across India were reported to number in the tens of thousands, while thousands of people were prevented from attending the protest.
The CJP called the rally over an exercise that removed 130 million names from India’s electoral roll. The movement, opposition parties and other groups allege the process was intended to entrench Narendra Modi’s government. They have called for the resignation of chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, who oversaw it.
Delhi police refused permission for a protest in the city centre. Officials barricaded roads, and more than 25,000 police and security personnel were deployed across the capital. Dipke accused the government of fearing young protesters.
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