An Indian court has extended the detention of two leaders of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) as authorities step up their crackdown on near-daily marches against the government.
At the hearing, activists Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das had their detention extended by two more days after police requested additional time for questioning. Delhi police did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the decision.
The two are among a group of 14 protesters who climbed over barricades to enter the Jantar Mantar observatory complex last week, a day after the site was removed from the list of places where demonstrations are permitted. A court subsequently sentenced them to five days in custody. Their arrest sparked a fresh protest in New Delhi on Friday.
Speaking outside the court, Ratna Singh, head of the CJP's legal department, called the extension a "complete mockery of the judicial system" and said the party would appeal the order to a higher court.
The CJP is the main force behind the protests, which are demanding the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar, the Chief Election Commissioner of India, over a controversial revision of the electoral rolls. Opponents say the revision benefits Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The CJP, along with opposition parties and left-wing student organisations, has led near-daily demonstrations this month after 130 million names were removed from the voter lists. The Election Commission said the lists included 28 million people who had died, 63 million who had changed residence and 30 million whose whereabouts could not be verified. The body denies favouring any party and insists that voters removed in error can re-register.
The BJP, meanwhile, accuses its opponents of trying to undermine democracy by raising misleading questions about legitimate electoral processes.
On Friday, CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke, student leaders and several supporters were also taken into custody as hundreds of people converged on central Delhi for a rally in support of Das and Ranka.
Still, the youth-led movement says it will not back down. Earlier this year, a mass protest by the CJP and its supporters forced Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to resign over an exam paper leak.
