India: Cockroach Movement leaders imprisoned amid voter list protests

Leaders of the Cockroach Movement, Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das, have been imprisoned for five days following their arrest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi. The arrests occurred after the two leaders entered the site, which had recently been designated a prohibited area for demonstrations, by climbing over barriers.

The movement, which originated on social media in May and is primarily composed of young people and students, is currently protesting against a controversial revision of voter lists. Protesters allege that over 130 million names have been removed from the lists, claiming this is an attempt to manipulate election outcomes. The movement is also calling for the resignation of election chief Gyanesh Kumar.

This follows previous large-scale unrest by the group, including protests against leaked medical exam papers that led to the resignation of the Education Minister in July. Despite police interventions, including the detention of thousands of protesters and disruptions to transport and internet services, the movement has signaled its intent to continue demonstrations.