Till now, only the police personnel deployed at Cockroach Janata Party’s protests had to worry about their safety, now maybe even the judges hearing cases involving their leaders need to worry.
A bail hearing that should have focused on the two detained protesters has led to a reported threat to the very magistrate handling the proceedings. Delhi Police has registered an FIR against unidentified persons after a Special Executive Magistrate said that he received a death threat during the bail hearing of Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka.
The two CJP leaders were placed in five days of judicial custody after their entry into Jantar Mantar, which was no longer a designated protest site. Their lawyers appeared on October 18 seeking their release, but the proceedings were delayed, triggering allegations of administrative obstruction from the party.
Ratna Singh, CJP’s legal affairs head, alleged that lawyers had been waiting since morning and that four sureties submitted in support of the bail pleas had been rejected on vague grounds. She also questioned why the hearing appeared to shift focus to the alleged threat rather than the merits of the release applications.
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke accused authorities of deliberately prolonging the detention of the two leaders. Notably, the duo had signed a one-year peace bond of Rs 50,000 after being detained at an earlier protest. Their entry at Jantar Mantar was a violation of that bond, and that led to their arrest.
