Dipke Praises Saurav Das, Ashutosh Ranka After Release, Calls Them ‘Bigger Leaders’

NEW DELHI, October 21: The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on Wednesday welcomed the release of its leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka following an order by a special executive magistrate, with party founder Abhijeet Dipke describing the duo as “much, much bigger leaders” than himself.

Reacting to their release, Dipke expressed his admiration for the two leaders in a social media post, saying he was willing to follow their instructions.

“Saurav and Ashu are not just better but much, much bigger leaders than me. Happy to follow your orders, my leaders. Jaan hazir hai!” he wrote.

In a lighter remark, Dipke added in Hindi that the two should not walk alone in the garden without him, reflecting his relief at their release. He also shared a photograph of Das and Ranka, captioning it “My leaders”.

The party’s legal head, Ratna Singh, welcomed the magistrate’s decision, saying the relief should have been granted earlier. She said the legal team had been working for several days to secure their release.

Das and Ranka were released after completing their period of judicial custody in connection with a protest held at Jantar Mantar on October 14.

CJP Questions Extension of Custody

Singh said the police had sought a five-day extension of the leaders’ custody, citing an imminent threat. However, the defence argued that there was no immediate threat warranting further detention and that no fresh call for a protest had been issued.

“You cannot take that as an assumption and extend the judicial custody. The SEM has taken that on record,” Singh said.

She maintained that the concerns cited by the police should not, by themselves, be treated as sufficient grounds to prolong detention without an adequate basis.

Das and Ranka were initially remanded to five days of judicial custody on October 14 after being detained over allegations that they entered the denotified protest site at Jantar Mantar and violated peace bonds. Their custody was subsequently extended by two days on October 19.

The magistrate’s order brought an end to the immediate legal effort to secure their release from custody.

Singh said the party welcomed the outcome despite believing that the decision could have been taken sooner.

High Court Had Declined to Intervene

Earlier on Wednesday, the Delhi High Court declined to interfere with the judicial custody of Das and Ranka. It asked them to await the decision of the special executive magistrate and indicated that they could approach the appellate court if their grievance remained unresolved.

Responding to the High Court’s observations, Singh said the judge was entitled to express an opinion, but the party did not necessarily agree with it.

She clarified that the immediate proceedings were focused on obtaining the release of the two leaders and that the court had not discussed the merits of the case during the hearing.

“There was no discussion on the merits in the court. We were here today for the release of Saurav and Ashutosh, for which we had been trying for the past week. Finally, that has happened,” she said.

Singh added that members of the party were emotional after the order and were eager to meet Das and Ranka following their period in custody.

She also expressed hope that individuals would not face restrictions on their liberty in the future because of issues involving sureties or other procedural requirements.

The release order had been sent, she said, and the team was awaiting the opportunity to meet the two leaders.

The development marked a significant moment for the CJP, whose legal team had pursued relief through the available judicial process. Dipke’s public message, meanwhile, underscored the party’s solidarity with the released leaders as it welcomed their return.