A team of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), including its co-convenor and chief spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka, was detained by Assam Police in Guwahati on Sunday, the party said.
Ranka claimed that the Assam government was concerned over the party’s review of government-run schools. He also alleged in a post on X that irregularities had occurred during the special revision of electoral rolls in the state.
The allegations were made by Ranka following the detention of the CJP team in Guwahati. The party has sought clarification from the authorities over the action.
He also claimed on X that irregularities had occurred during the Special Revision (SR) of electoral rolls in Assam.
“Himanta Mama is scared that under the guise of Gyanesh, the rigging in the Assam elections might get exposed,” Ranka wrote, referring to Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The allegations come amid earlier reports about apparent anomalies in the delimitation process in Assam and West Bengal.
In a statement issued on Sunday, CJP said Assam Police barricaded the venue where the party was scheduled to hold its first regional volunteers’ meet-up in Guwahati. According to the organisation, Ranka and several volunteers were detained while travelling to the venue.
The party said authorities deployed tear gas equipment and intercepted people arriving for the meeting. CJP said it could not immediately confirm the exact number of volunteers detained, while their locations remained unclear because the police stations where they were reportedly taken had not been disclosed.
Ranka had arrived in Guwahati on Saturday, September 26, and was scheduled to address the volunteers’ meeting. CJP also claimed that an earlier venue for volunteers from Assam and other northeastern states was withdrawn amid what the organisation described as “intense state pressure.”
The outfit further alleged that lawyers representing its team were not permitted to meet the detained activists.
CJP said it would continue its grassroots activities in Assam, including its “School Thik Karo” campaign and outreach to families affected by the revision of electoral rolls. The organisation has demanded the immediate and unconditional release of Ranka and the other detained volunteers, along with an explanation from Assam Police over the blockade and the cancellation of the original venue.
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