India's 'Cockroach' protest movement leaders freed from detention

NEW DELHI (AP) — Leaders of the Cockroach Janata Party, an Indian youth movement, were released Sunday, a day after they were detained ahead of protests against a contentious revision of voter lists. The movement is demanding the resignation of the country's election chief.

The three leaders — Abhijeet Dipke, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka — were freed on condition that they commit "no breach of peace for one year," Ratna Singh, the movement's legal director, said in a social media post. It was unclear what the condition meant or whether it would restrict their participation in protests.

Police had boarded the leaders' flight from Mumbai after it landed in New Delhi on Saturday and took them into custody as they prepared to lead a demonstration in New Delhi.

Authorities have launched a sweeping security crackdown in the capital, detaining more than 2,000 protesters, including several opposition lawmakers. Train services to the capital were canceled, metro stations closed and mobile internet suspended in parts of the city.

Most of those detained were released late Saturday, police said.

After his release, Dipke called Prime Minister Narendra Modi "an embarrassment to India."

"Never has this country seen a bigger coward and bully," he wrote on X.

The protests center on the voter list revision that critics say is politically motivated. The revision, which began last summer, has removed more than 130 million names from the lists.

Protesters are demanding the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar, the chief election commissioner.Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the Election Commission deny allegations of manipulation.

The Cockroach movement began as an online satirical campaign this summer after India's chief justice compared unemployed young people to parasites. Many young Indians embraced the remark, adopting the cockroach as a symbol of resilience.

Protests led by the group forced the resignation of Modi's education minister in July, a rare setback for the prime minister, who has been in power for more than 12 years.

Security personnel detain a protester during a youth demonstration demanding the resignation of the country's election chief Gyanesh Kumar, in New Delhi, India, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Vipin) - The Associated Press

Police detain a protester during a demosntrationt demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar during a protest in New Delhi, India, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Prabhat Mehrota) - The Associated Press

Abhijeet Dipke, center, founder of the Cockroach Janta Party, stands on the court premises following his release in New Delhi, India, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Prabhat Mehrota) - The Associated Press

Police detain Communist Party of India (Marxist) lawmaker John Brittas during a demonstration demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar during a protest in New Delhi, India, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Sanjeev Rastogi) - The Associated Press