Founder of India's cockroach movement released by court order

Abhijeet Dipke, leader of India's "cockroach" youth movement, was released by court order a day after being detained ahead of a protest march demanding the resignation of the election chief.

Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), was released by an Indian court after being detained while attempting to lead a new protest rally demanding the resignation of the country's election chief. The CJP founder had previously drawn attention for helping force the resignation of India's Education Minister following weeks of sit-in protests.

Ratna Singh, head of legal affairs for the CJP, stated that Dipke was released after agreeing to certain conditions, though she did not share details regarding the terms. Dipke's group, along with opposition and student organizations, demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over a voter roll revision that they claim favors Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling BJP party.

During the voter list revision, over 130 million voters were removed, while the Election Commission denied allegations of favoring any political party and announced that incorrectly deleted voters could re-register. Meanwhile, the ruling BJP accused rivals of targeting democracy by questioning legitimate electoral processes. Student activist Neha Bora, who was detained on Friday while trying to reach Delhi with dozens of supporters, was released on Saturday as student groups issued calls for new protests.