New Delhi, Oct 11. (dpa/GNA) – The founder and other leading figures of India’s anti-government Cockroach youth movement, were released from detention on Sunday, a day after police took them into custody ahead of fresh protests against revisions to electoral rolls.
A New Delhi court ordered Abhijeet Dipke and two of his fellow activists, to keep the peace and behave properly for one year, New Delhi police said. Bail was set at 50,000 rupees (around $516).
Dipke, who founded the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) in May, was taken away by police along with others on Saturday, after landing in New Delhi to lead the demonstrations.
The authorities described the measure as a precaution, saying the rally was not authorized. A student organization was among those who had called for the demonstration.
Thousands of mostly young people were detained during the subsequent protests, according to Indian media reports, and were released overnight.
The figures vary between more than 3,000 and up to 7,000. On Sunday, numerous members of student groups seeking to hold a protest march in New Delhi were detained, The Hindu newspaper reported.
A core demand of the movement is the resignation of the chief of the Election Commission, Gyanesh Kumar.
The independent commission is responsible for the recent nationwide revision of electoral rolls, in which 130 million names were deleted.
Critics accuse the commission of making changes that would benefit the Hindu nationalist ruling BJP of Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.
The commission and the BJP deny the allegations.
The CJP was founded after a Supreme Court judge, described unemployed young people as “cockroaches.”
The Cockroach movement describes itself as a “satirical political movement.”
It organizes itself primarily online, and has no party headquarters.
GNA