CJP Claims Co-Convener Ashutosh Ranka, Party Volunteers Detained in Assam Hours Before Key Meet

Guwahati: The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) claimed that Assam Police detained the party's co-convener Ashutosh Ranka and several volunteers in Guwahati on Sunday, hours ahead of the party's first regional "Volunteer Meet-Up" in the state, scheduled for the same day.

The event was originally set to be held at 10 am at the Assam Shree Parshuram Seva Sadan on Kharga Choudhury Road in Athgaon but was shifted to Chowdhury Tila, opposite the Assam Secretariat, after organisers said they came under pressure over the original venue booking. Ranka, who had arrived in Guwahati earlier in the week along with fellow members Ankit Bhardwaj, Akash Prem, Varun Agrawal and Anam, dismissed the venue change as an attempt to suppress the party's organisational efforts in the state.

Speaking to reporters before his detention, Ranka accused Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma of trying to block the party from exposing the state of schools in Assam and alleged that the rights of local communities, including around Kaziranga, were being eroded through the transfer of land, forests and water resources to corporate interests. Police subsequently detained Ranka along with three participants who had travelled from Nagaland to attend the event.

Separately, police also arrested several people who had arrived in Guwahati for the meet-up. The CJP has called the police action undemocratic, alleging that barricades and tear-gas equipment were deployed to keep participants from reaching the venue, and has demanded the release of its members along with a public explanation from authorities.