India activists demand release of detained ‘cockroach’ protesters

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India’s youth-led “cockroach” movement, whose nationwide protests forced the resignation of the education minister, urged authorities on Monday to release all detained demonstrators.

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The online Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which organised protests over exam paper leaks and other irregularities, said they had received reports of students held in detention, particularly in the states of Assam, West Bengal and Bihar.

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The CJP accused the government of backtracking after authorities had assured them that no punitive action would be taken against protesters.

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“If the government does not honour the agreement and release everyone detained or arrested, we will be compelled to resume the protest,” Ashutosh Ranka, a spokesperson of the CJP told reporters.

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The Indian government have not issued an official statement on the issue.

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It comes two days after Dharmendra Pradhan resigned as education minister over repeated failures in the conduct of competitive exams that have fuelled anger among millions of young Indians.

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At least 100 people have been arrested, many of them on stringent non-bailable charges, across the country, according to the group.

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The CJP has set up a legal fund to help meet the expenses of protesters implicated in criminal cases by the police, Saurav Das, another spokesperson for the youth-led movement, said.

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The movement has won millions of followers on social media since it was launched in May by 30-year-old public relations graduate Abhijeet Dipke.

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Tens of thousands of protesters, mainly students, rallied last week in New Delhi and other cities, demanding Pradhan’s resignation and broader reforms of the examination system.

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– ‘One of the gravest assaults on democracy’ –

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Demonstrations in the Indian capital turned violent on July 20 when huge crowds attempted to march towards parliament from the Jantar Mantar protest site.

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Police fired tear gas and used batons to disperse the protest, triggering clashes and a wave of detentions.

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In the eastern state of Bihar, a police official was suspended for using an assault rifle to disperse student protesters in Siwan district on Saturday.

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“He has been suspended, and the three people injured in the incident are undergoing treatment,” police superintendent Puran Kumar Jha told AFP on Monday.

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The Chief Justice of India called for an independent investigation after a petition was filed in the Supreme Court alleging police brutality.

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The “right to peaceful, lawful protest is absolutely guaranteed” under the Indian constitution,” local media reports quoted Surya Kant as saying.

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“If there is excess committed, it should be independently examined… discipline is integral to democratic process.”

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The issue also reverberated in parliament on Monday, with repeated disruptions as opposition lawmakers demanded a response from the government over last week’s police crackdown.

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“It is one of the gravest assaults on democracy in our history,” opposition Congress party chief Mallikarjun Kharge said on X.

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“Never before have students been beaten, dragged, and treated like criminals for raising their voices.”

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Despite the disruptions, the government introduced legislation in the lower house seeking tougher penalties for examination paper leaks.

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AFP

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