A day after a massive demonstration at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park, the Mumbai Police on Saturday registered an FIR against the organisers and 400–500 unidentified persons allegedly involved in the protest organised by the Cockroach Janta Party.
According to PTI news agency, the case was registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Maharashtra Police Act for unlawful assembly, wilful disobedience of a lawful order issued by a public servant, and other offences.
The FIR was filed a day after CJP founder and Gen Z outfit leader Abhijeet Dipke organised the protest at Shivaji Park, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The Mumbai Police had denied permission for the protest, citing concerns over noise pollution, traffic congestion and disruption to vehicular movement. Following the denial, Dipke called for a ‘Jail Bharo Andolan’, urging protesters to gather at the venue.
The case was lodged on the complaint of a Shivaji Park resident. However, no one has been arrested in the case, so far.
Who filed the complaint?
Siddhi Deolekar, a resident and advocate, said on Friday that she had lodged a complaint at Shivaji Park Police Station against CJP activists Abhijeet Dipke, Ashutosh Ranka, Saurav Das and Ratna Singh for allegedly proceeding with the protest despite the denial of permission.
In a post on X, Deolekar said the complaint was also against the four CJP leaders, including Ratna Singh, the legal affairs head of the party, and others for allegedly gathering a large crowd despite the express denial of permission.
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"As a responsible Shivaji Park citizen, I have lodged a complaint against @abhijeet_dipke, @AshutoshRanka, @Saurav Dassss and @whattalawyer at Shivaji Park Police Station for allegedly attempting to proceed with the Shivaji Park Protest and gathering a huge crowd despite express denial of permission and the restrictions flowing from the Hon''ble Bombay High Court''s judgment in PIL 116/2009 dated 04.01.2013 and the subsequent Maharashtra Government order," she said.
She also referred to restrictions arising from the Bombay High Court's judgment in PIL 116/2009 dated January 4, 2013, and a subsequent Maharashtra government order.
"This is not 'peaceful protest'. This is an attempt to defy the law under the cover of a political protest," Deolekar said.
She alleged that those claiming to fight for the Constitution were challenging the authority of the Bombay High Court.
She further said that if this conduct is allowed, tomorrow anyone can violate a court-backed restriction, call it a "peaceful activity", and expect the law to look away.
CJP announces fresh protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar
After leading the Shivaji Park demonstration on Friday, CJP leader Abhijeet Dipke announced a fresh protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar if Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar did not resign.
In a post on X, Dipke wrote, "If Gyanesh Kumar doesn't resign, cockroaches from across India will march to Delhi & protest at Jantar Mantar on October 10,. He said it will be a peaceful agitation and every citizen who wants free and fair elections must join it.
The Mumbai protest drew a large turnout, with young men and women gathering in central Mumbai despite the police denying permission for the event.
What is CJP protesting?
According to the CJP, Dipke chose Maharashtra to launch the protest against CEC Kumar because the alleged irregularities began in the state.
He claimed that 13 crore voters have been deleted in two years. In 2024, there were 97 crore registered voters, and the gap between the NDA and INDIA grouping in the Lok Sabha polls was just 2 per cent, he said.
Dipke alleged that Kumar was appointed 15 days before the polls to increase the gap.
He claimed that in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP "stole" the Maharashtra Assembly elections as 40 lakh voters were added to the electoral rolls.
In Delhi, 40,000 voters were deleted from AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal's Assembly constituency, and he lost by 4,000 votes, Dipke said.
In Tamil Nadu, nearly one lakh voters were deleted from former Chief Minister M K Stalin's constituency, and he lost by 10,000 votes, while Mamata Banerjee lost similarly in West Bengal after voters in her constituency were deleted, the CJP leader alleged.
Meanwhile, senior actors Naseeruddin Shah and Shabana Azmi, filmmakers Vishal Bhardwaj and Hansal Mehta, singer-music director Vishal Dadlani, and Tushar Gandhi, the great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, were present at the protest.