Hundreds arrested in India as voter roll protests escalate; CJP founder detained at airport

Protest demonstrations in India have escalated sharply, with hundreds of activists arrested by authorities after mass rallies demanding the resignation of election commission head Gyanesh Kumar. The unrest follows revelations that approximately 130 million names had been removed from voter rolls in what critics describe as systematic electoral disenfranchisement.

CJP founder detained

Dipke, the founder of Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP), was arrested at an airport as she attempted to travel to a protest. Her detention was condemned by civil society organisations as an attempt to suppress the movement's leadership. The CJP has been at the forefront of legal challenges to the voter roll deletions.

Core demands and context

Demonstrators are calling for the immediate resignation of Gyanesh Kumar as election commission chief, along with a review and reinstatement of the removed voter registrations. Critics allege the purge disproportionately targeted minority and opposition-leaning communities. The scale of names removed — around 130 million — has shocked opposition parties and international observers tracking democratic backsliding in India.

Government response

Authorities have defended the voter roll revisions as a routine cleaning of outdated registrations. Police cited public order concerns for the wave of arrests. Human rights organisations have called for the release of detainees and an independent audit of the electoral roll changes.