NEW DELHI: Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, who were placed under preventive arrest for trespassing at Jantar Mantar, have been sent to five days of judicial custody.Advocate Abhisht Hela, who is representing Das, Ranka and Shinde, questioned the grounds for sending the leaders to judicial custody and accused police of making false claims in court.“They have been sent to 5-day judicial custody because of the presumption of the Police that they can commit a crime. Police lied in Court that they had given a call urging people to come there.”“They had not given any call. They have not violated the bond. The separate complaint over Connaught Place has been misused here, and they have been sent to 5-day judicial custody,” Hela said.Reacting to the court’s order, CJP leader Ajinkya Shinde accused the government of misusing its powers to curtail people’s fundamental rights.He said the two leaders had gone to Jantar Mantar along with him and other party volunteers, where they waved the national flag and raised the slogan ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’.“You may know that Ashutosh, Saurav Das and I, along with volunteers from CJP, went to Jantar Mantar. We simply waved the Indian national flag and raised the slogan of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’,” Shinde said.Accusing the Modi-Shah government of acting dictatorially, he alleged that the leaders were jailed for their protest. He also pointed out that Wednesday was Ranka’s birthday.“Today was Ashutosh’s birthday, and on his birthday, he has been sent to jail for raising the slogan of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ and waving the Tricolour,” he said.Shinde appealed to people across the country to unite against the government, alleging that the authorities were using state machinery to violate fundamental rights.“I appeal to everyone that we must come together to bring an end to this dictatorial government,” he said.He also asserted that the five-day judicial custody would not intimidate the party’s leaders, claiming that Das and Ranka remained determined to continue their fight.“If the government thinks that sending our two leaders, Ashutosh and Saurav, to jail for five days will frighten them, it is absolutely mistaken,” Shinde said, adding that the two leaders had entered jail with their heads held high and had made it clear they would not be afraid.The three were detained early Tuesday after they allegedly breached barricades and entered the protest site, which was recently denotified as a designated venue for demonstrations, and raised slogans demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation.Police registered a case against them on charges including trespassing, violation of prohibitory orders, breach of a peace bond and obstructing a public servant from discharging official duties.Ranka and Das had signed a bond to maintain peace for a year after they were detained on Saturday during a previous protest in the national capital, officials said.On October 11, Delhi Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar issued an order designating Ramlila Maidan, Burari Ground and CBD Ground as venues for protests and demonstrations, following which Jantar Mantar was denotified as a designated protest site.The CJP has criticised the move, arguing that shifting demonstrations away from the political centre of the national capital would weaken the visibility of public dissent
