Indian police arrested Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the youth-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), on Saturday, according to multiple media reports, a day after detaining him ahead of a rally in Delhi that drew hundreds of protesters waving national flags and demanding the resignation of the country's election chief.
Dipke was arrested to prevent a breach of the peace and was due to appear before a special executive magistrate on Saturday, broadcasters NDTV and India Today reported.
Delhi police did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
The CJP, opposition groups and student organizations have staged near-daily protests this month, calling for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to resign over a revision of voter lists that they allege favors Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
More than 130 million voters were deleted from the lists during the revision. The Election Commission has denied favoring any party and said voters who were wrongly removed can re-enroll. The BJP has accused its rivals of trying to undermine democracy by questioning legitimate electoral processes.
Student activist Neha Bora, a prominent face of the protests, was also detained Friday as she tried to reach central Delhi with dozens of supporters. She was released Saturday.
"Please, spare the people of India. Impeach Gyanesh Kumar and halt SIR (special intensive revision), so that the ordinary citizens of this country can breathe a sigh of relief, feel at ease, and have their voting rights ensured," Bora told the ANI news agency after her release.
Dipke was detained Friday as he left a house in central Delhi. Police forced him into a police car and drove away after a brief argument.
Dipke had called Friday's protest in support of two CJP leaders who were detained and sent to jail for five days this week for demonstrating at a protest site in violation of a ban.
Earlier Friday, police had met with Dipke and warned him against proceeding with the protest.
The Cockroach movement has emerged as a significant source of political pressure on Modi and the BJP during the prime minister's 12 years in power.
A weeks-long sit-in by the movement's supporters earlier this year forced Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to resign over exam paper leaks.
