Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) co-convenor Ashutosh Ranka and top leadership were detained by Assam Police in Guwahati on September 27, 2026, ahead of a regional volunteers’ meeting, with the party alleging the action was to suppress criticism of the state government’s policies on education and land rights.
Over 30 Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) workers, including four members of its central committee, were detained by Assam Police in Guwahati on Sunday, September 27, 2026, ahead of the party’s scheduled regional volunteers’ meeting, according to the party. The meeting was originally scheduled for 10am at Assam Shree Parshuram Seva Sadan on Kharga Choudhury Road in Athgaon. The venue was later shifted to Chowdhury Tila, opposite the Assam Secretariat, after organizers claimed the original location was canceled under pressure. CJP co-convener Ashutosh Ranka, who was among those detained, alleged, Police were acting like goons since morning, it was a peaceful meeting at a private property but police kept detaining our team members and now all of us have been detained.
Ashutosh Ranka, volunteers detained in Assam ahead of meet
The CJP’s regional volunteers’ meeting was planned to gather 200–300 attendees at a hilltop near the Assam Secretariat. Assam Police blocked access to the venue since morning, preventing volunteers from reaching the site. CJP leaders said its top leadership, including Ashutosh Ranka, Ankit Bhardwaj, and Prem Aakash, along with Assam-based volunteers, were detained and moved to a police facility in Guwahati. Assam Police have detained the CJP’s senior leadership, including Ashutosh Ranka, Prem Aakash and me, along with several of our Assam volunteers. We have been taken to a police facility in Guwahati,
Bhardwaj told The Times of India.
Ranka, who was among those detained, claimed the Assam government, led by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, was “scared” of the CJP’s campaign to expose the state’s man-made floods and the erosion of rights for communities in Kaziranga. 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 alleged. He also accused the government of taking away the rights of people in Kaziranga and claimed that land, forests, and water were being taken away and given to corporates. Himanta Biswa Sarma is scared because of how the rights of our people are being taken away in Kaziranga, and how land, forests and water are being taken away and given to corporates,
he said.
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke reported that lawyers attempting to meet the detained leaders were barred from entering the police facility where they were held. Lawyers are standing outside where Ashutosh and co. are detained but police is not letting them in,
Dipke said on social media.
CJP’s Ashutosh Ranka, his team detained in Guwahati
The detentions occurred as the CJP intensified its scrutiny of Assam’s electoral roll revisions, which it claims have excluded legitimate voters. Ranka had planned to meet families affected by the process and inspect schools as part of the campaign. The party has accused the Himanta government of using tear-gas equipment near the meeting venue and obstructing peaceful assembly. They stopped us from holding a peaceful volunteers’ meeting and are now taking us away from the venue against our will,
a CJP leader said while being taken to a police bus.
CJP volunteers detained from their Peaceful Meet-Up by Assam Police. But we won’t back off! Jai Aai Axom! pic.twitter.com/ivvD5bsEKl— Cockroach Janta Party – CJP (@Cockroachisback) September 27, 2026
CJP members detained by police in Guwahati
The party’s regional volunteers’ meeting was moved to a hilltop near the Assam Secretariat after the original venue was canceled under pressure. Police blocked access to the site, preventing attendees from reaching the location. CJP leaders said the Assam Police blocked access to the venue and intercepted the team before they could proceed. Assam Police has detained Ashutosh Ranka and the CJP team and is taking them to an unknown location,
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke posted, alleging that the team had only been going to hold a small volunteers’ meet-up in Assam.
The CJP has accused the Assam government of targeting its activities. 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. The party’s campaign includes highlighting issues such as poor school conditions, land encroachment in Kaziranga, and corporate exploitation of natural resources. Assam Police has detained Ashutosh Ranka and the CJP team and is taking them to an unknown location,
Dipke posted, alleging that the team had only been going to hold a small volunteers’ meet-up in Assam.
CJP co-convener Ashutosh Ranka and his team were detained in Guwahati. Ranka said, Himanta Biswa Sarma is scared.
The party’s legal affairs head criticized the Assam government’s actions, stating, People’s democratic rights cannot be curtailed arbitrarily.
The CJP has also raised concerns about the blocking of access to the meeting venue and the detention of its leaders, with Ranka describing the police as acting “like goons.”