New Delhi: Delhi Police on Tuesday detained a total of 14 people, including Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) activists Saurav Das, Ashutosh Ranka, and Ajinkya Shinde, from Jantar Mantar. This information was provided by their lawyer, Advocate Pushp Sharma.
Speaking to ANI outside the Jafarpur Kalan police station, Sharma said that all those detained have been kept inside the station. However, the lawyer had not been allowed to meet them as of the time of writing this report.
Lawyer not allowed to meet those detained
According to Advocate Pushp Sharma, the police detained Saurav Das along with his two key associates, Ashutosh Ranka and Ajinkya Shinde, and 11 others. This brings the total number of people taken into custody to 14.
Sharma said that when he last spoke to Sourav Das, he confirmed that he was still inside the police station. The lawyer stated that he was not even aware how long the police would detain him.
He requested permission from the officers posted outside the police station to meet the detained individuals. According to the lawyer, the police officers asked him to wait for some more time and informed him that the SHO had said he would grant permission in 15 to 20 minutes.
CJP workers had reached Jantar Mantar to protest
Earlier, Sourav Das and several other activists were detained after protesting at Jantar Mantar. The protesters stated that Jantar Mantar is a legitimate place for democratic protests.
In a video shared from inside a police bus, Sourav Das questioned the exclusion of the protest site from the notification. He stated that Jantar Mantar is a designated protest site and that they would demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar from there.
Home Ministry Accused of Removing Protest Venues
Sourav Das alleged that the government is gradually eliminating available protest venues in Delhi and suppressing public dissent.
He questioned whether the public was consulted before removing Jantar Mantar from the list of protest venues. Das claimed that no public consultation was held in this regard.
He said that first, protest opportunities were removed from India Gate and Boat House, and now Jantar Mantar has also been removed. According to him, there is no space left for protests in the New Delhi district.
Das said that democracy cannot function like this and questioned whether the Home Ministry has the authority to remove Jantar Mantar from the list of protest venues.