CJP Leaders Sent to Tihar Jail; Rahul Gandhi, Arvind Kejriwal Back Protests

Opposition leaders Rahul Gandhi and Arvind Kejriwal have strongly criticised the arrest and five-day judicial custody of Citizens for Justice and Peace co-conveners Saurabh Das and Ashutosh Ranka. The two leaders were remanded to Delhi's Tihar Prison for entering Jantar Mantar after it was denotified as a protest site and waving the national flag. A third member, Ajinkya Shinde, was released after furnishing a peace bond of five thousand rupees and undertaking to maintain peace. Delhi Police stated that Das and Ranka breached a one-year peace bond signed on 11th October by trespassing, violating prohibitory orders, and obstructing public servants on duty. CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke condemned the action, alleging that the government is crushing dissent and daring authorities to declare an emergency. Both the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party came out in active support of the student movement, questioning how peacefully waving the tricolor at Jantar Mantar could be treated as a crime.