Indian court releases 'cockroach' movement leaders from detention
Summary
India’s youth-led Cockroach Janta Party says its founder Abhijeet Dipke and two other leaders have been released after being detained ahead of a major protest in New Delhi. The crackdown came amid nationwide anger over a voter-roll revision and drew criticism from opposition leaders and the U.N. human rights chief.
Key Points
- The founder of India’s youth-led online Cockroach movement, Abhijeet Dipke, and two other leaders were released after a day in detention.
- Authorities detained thousands in New Delhi to stop a planned protest against the Election Commission of India over a nationwide voter-roll revision.
- Critics say the revision has disproportionately affected minorities, especially Muslims, while election authorities say it was meant to remove duplicate, deceased and fraudulent entries.
- Opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, accused Narendra Modi’s government of suppressing dissent and vowed to continue protests.
