Delhi protest: CJP's Dheepak, Dhruv Rathee, Mamata Banerjee among many detained

Ahead of a planned protest by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) in the Indian capital New Delhi, police have detained many people including party founder Abhijit Dheepak.

The party said Dheepak, Saurabh Das and Ashutosh Ranka, who had flown in from Mumbai to Delhi, were taken into custody straight from the plane. Prominent YouTuber Dhruv Rathee was detained on Saturday morning from his residence in Sector 56, Gurugram.

According to Indian media, about 600 supporters are in custody. CJP had called for a protest at Jantar Mantar demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and suspension of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list.

The Election Commission has rejected the allegations, saying the revision was conducted to remove duplicate and ineligible names. Police have not granted permission for the protest.

According to news agency PTI, more than 250 trains running to and from New Delhi and Hazrat Nizamuddin stations have been cancelled. Delhi Metro has also closed entry and exit gates at about 45 stations.

Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal said the crackdown signals the government's fear.