CJP co-convenor Ashutosh Ranka detained with team in Guwahati

Cockroach Janta Party co-convenor Ashutosh Ranka and members of his team were detained in Guwahati on Sunday, according to the party’s founder, Abhijeet Dipke. Dipke said in a post on X that Assam Police had detained Ranka and the CJP team and was taking them to an unknown location. He said the group had been travelling to a small volunteers’ meeting in Assam.

Ranka alleged that Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma was afraid that the party would expose the condition of schools in the state. He also accused the authorities of taking away people’s rights in Kaziranga and transferring land, forests and water to corporate interests. “Himanta Biswa Sarma is scared that if we show the reality of schools in Assam, the country will come to know about their condition,” Ranka said.

Dipke further said lawyers were waiting outside the place where Ranka and others were detained but had not been allowed to meet them. The supplied report did not include a response from Assam Police to the allegations. The detention occurred as the CJP sought to expand its activities in Assam.

Ranka had been due to participate in a volunteers’ meeting in Guwahati, according to Dipke’s account. The party’s allegations and the exact number and location of those detained could not be independently established from the supplied material.