Released from Tihar Jail on Wednesday, CJP leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka now carry a Delhi Police Crime Branch summons for Thursday, along with Ajinkya Shinde, to join the investigation into the Jantar Mantar protest cases.
New Delhi: Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders Saurav Das, Ashutosh Ranka and Ajinkya Shinde have been asked by the Delhi Police Crime Branch to join the investigation on Thursday, October 22, in the cases arising from the October 13 protest at Jantar Mantar. Das and Ranka received their notices after coming out of Tihar Jail on Wednesday [State v. Saurav Das and Others].
What the probe covers
Two things are under investigation: alleged disobedience of a government order, which was Section 188 of the IPC and is now Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and alleged trespass by the leaders on their way to Jantar Mantar. The provision under which the notices were issued was not stated.
Two FIRs, now with the Inter State Cell
Delhi Police transferred two FIRs against Das and Ranka to the Inter State Cell of the Crime Branch on October 19. The one registered at Connaught Place police station invokes Sections 223A (disobedience of a promulgated order), 332 (house-trespass to commit an offence) and 61(2) (criminal conspiracy) of the BNS; the police allege that the two went through private premises to reach Jantar Mantar.
The other, at Parliament Street police station, invokes Sections 221, 115(2), 132 and 121(1) read with Section 3(5) of the BNS, over the alleged obstruction of police personnel during the protest.
Where Shinde stands
Shinde was detained with them on October 13 but was not sent to custody. He was bound down for six months and let go on a personal bond and a Rs 5,000 surety. The CJP has been protesting in Delhi against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar since October 10.
The week in custody
Separate preventive proceedings under Sections 126 and 170 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita kept Das and Ranka in judicial custody for over a week, after the police alleged that they breached peace bonds by going to Jantar Mantar, which had been de-notified as a protest site. The police had sought three more days of custody on Wednesday, but a Special Executive Magistrate accepted their surety bonds and ordered their release. Earlier that day, the Delhi High Court had allowed them to withdraw a writ petition against the custody, pointing them to the remedy of revision.
The allegations in the FIRs are the police’s case and are untested. Das, Ranka and Shinde are presumed innocent, no court has examined the charges, and the CJP’s response to the summons is not yet on record.
Case: FIRs at PS Connaught Place and PS Parliament Street (FIR numbers not available)
Investigating agency: Inter State Cell, Crime Branch, Delhi Police
Date of appearance sought: October 22, 2026