India police detain Cockroach leader as New Delhi enforces lockdown ahead of election protest

Authorities in New Delhi detained the founder of a youth protest movement and imposed a virtual lockdown ahead of a rally challenging the chief election commissioner.

Thousands of security officers were deployed across the capital to prevent the demonstration. Officials suspended travel and telecommunications links to keep the city contained.

Police took Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the Cockroach Janta Party, into custody before he could lead the planned gathering. The protest was organized to demand the resignation of the election chief over claims of voter list fraud.

Anger has grown against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar following a major revision of the voter rolls. The update removed 130 million people from the lists. Critics say the deleted voters were mostly Muslim and argue the changes were designed to benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party.