Members of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), including Saurav Das and Nishu Aazad, along with their supporters are protesting at the Parliament Street police station on Friday (September 4, 2026), seeking a revisit of the FIR registered over an assault on Ms. Nishu’s father, Sanjay Kumar, during the students protest that took place at Jantar Mantar in July.

There is a heavy police deployment outside the police station.

The development comes after a video surfaced online featuring the alleged accused Swatantra Bhardwaj, in which he purportedly spoke about the assault and claimed he “had not been jailed,” triggering fresh questions over the police action in the case. CJP members have alleged that the case should have included a more stringent provision for attempt to murder or grievous hurt and have also raised allegations of political interference.

Mr. Das said the CJP has not left the students or protesters to “fight this battle alone” and alleged that Mr. Bhardwaj had openly spoken about attacking Mr. Sanjay, who had been peacefully protesting over issues concerning NEET students.

“Sanjayji’s case is harrowing. Gang members like Swatantra Bhardwaj are openly flaunting that they attempted to murder Sanjayji, who was simply peacefully protesting for NEET students. Sanjayji was brutally attacked and barely survived,” Mr. Das said.

He said he and other CJP members would seek justice for Mr. Sanjay and Ms. Nishu at the police station, arguing that the alleged statements by Mr. Bhardwaj amounted to an admission of the assault.

Mr. Das had earlier alleged that the injury was severe enough to warrant an attempt-to-murder charge, describing the wound as having been of a size that, in his view, warranted invoking Section 307 of the IPC. He alleged that the police refused to add the provision and also declined his request to invoke provisions relating to grievous hurt. “Sanjayji’s skull was cracked open. The wound dimensions were of such great size that it obviously warranted an Attempt to Murder charge in the FIR,” Mr. Das had said, while alleging that the police asked them to obtain a court order for stronger sections.

He had also alleged that other persons who were with Mr. Bhardwaj during the incident had not been identified and claimed that some of them had subsequently posted videos threatening Mr. Sanjay’s minor daughter, Mr. Nishu.

However, Delhi Police have disputed the CJP’s account of the nature of the injury and denied any political interference in the case.

Newly-appointed Delhi Deputy Commissioner of Police Sachin Sharma said that on July 23, during a CJP protest at Jantar Mantar, Sanjay Kumar (38), a resident of Ghaziabad, sustained a head injury from a kada (metal bangle) worn by one of the alleged accused during a scuffle.

According to the police, Mr. Sanjay was medically examined by doctors at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital and the injuries were opined to be simple in nature. The police said the injury was caused by a kada and not a weapon, and that the claim of a crack in the skull was not supported by the medical examination report.

“On his statement, a case under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita was registered at PS Parliament Street,” the official said. The police said the accused were detained at the spot and that during the investigation, Suraj Kumar (24), and Swatantra Bhardwaj (21), were served notices and interrogated. A chargesheet is expected to be filed before the competent court, police said.

The DCP also rejected allegations that the investigation had been influenced or that anyone had interfered with the case, saying it has been handled in accordance with law and procedure.

The renewed dispute comes following CJP’s prolonged protest at Jantar Mantar over alleged irregularities in competitive examinations and its July 20 march towards Parliament. Thousands of protesters had gathered in Delhi for the proposed march on the opening day of the Monsoon Session, with the agitation subsequently becoming a major confrontation between protesters and security personnel.

CJP members have now sought a fresh examination of the action taken in Mr. Sanjay’s case, particularly the sections invoked in the FIR and the role of others allegedly involved in the assault. Mr. Das had earlier said that the police refused to invoke attempt to murder provisions and claimed that the family had been asked to approach a court for the relevant sections.

The police, however, maintain that the medical opinion did not support the allegations of a grievous or life-threatening injury and that the investigation has proceeded strictly according to the available evidence.

The Delhi Police have drawn up a multi-layered security plan involving online monitoring, drone surveillance, call records’ analysis at sensitive locations ahead of the proposed Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest on September 5, stressing that no permission has been granted for a gathering at India Gate, Police Headquarters (PHQ) or the approach routes.

Days before the BRICS Summit on September 12 and 13, the CJP has decided to hit the streets again over Centre’s failure to live up to its assurances after July protests, including the immediate withdrawal of FIRs against student protesters. The Supreme Court on Monday declined to pass any order against the protest in central Delhi.

CJP co-convenor Saurav Das said, “Delhi Police can continue with their routine work. But, as we have done in the past, our protest marches have always been peaceful. There should be no apprehension that this protest will not be peaceful.”

Multi-layered deployment

Security personnel will be deployed at Delhi’s inter-state borders, the periphery of New Delhi district, India Gate, PHQ and routes leading to these locations. Officials said the focus would be on preventing large gatherings and filtering out protesters before they reach the proposed sites.

A dedicated control room will coordinate inputs from field locations. Additional forces will be deployed in coordination with CAPFs, while detention teams and buses will be kept ready.

The Law and Order units across districts have been tasked with identifying Jantar Mantar participants who were flagged through facial-recognition systems (FRS) during the July 20 protest. Police officials have been asked to visit the residences of those who participated in the earlier protest, issue advisories against participation and document compliance.

Police have also stepped up online monitoring, tracking posts containing specific keywords and using algorithms to flag videos and other content considered suspicious, sources said.

Preventive action under Sections 107 and 116 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) is planned against identified organisers, an official said. Prohibitory orders under Section 163 BNSS are also likely. Security will additionally be strengthened around high-security areas.

Multi-level coordination

Police will coordinate with the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and other transport authorities to regulate movement around the protest sites. App-based services, including food and delivery platforms, are also likely to be suspended within a five-kilometre radius on September 5. Internet suspension has not been confirmed and would require approval from competent authorities, an official said.

Officials will also use Aman Committee and Nagrik Suraksha Committee meetings to communicate the no-permission position and attempt to de-escalate mobilisation.

Delhi Police will coordinate with forces in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan for mirror picketing and restrictions on Delhi-bound movement of identified groups. Barricades will be erected at inter-state borders, including arterial and link roads.
The Special Cell will provide technical surveillance support, including analysis of call-detail records and tower dumps at sensitive locations, where legally sanctioned. CCTV feeds from across the city will be monitored and preserved for post-event investigation, while drones may supplement surveillance.

The Intelligence and Special Branches have been asked to assess mobilisation trends, logistics providers, leaders, their movements and possible political backing.

Ambulances will be positioned and hospitals, including AIIMS, Ram Manohar Lohia and Lok Nayak Jai Prakash hospital, will be kept coordinated. An uninterrupted emergency corridor will be maintained through the sealed zone, officials said.

CJP response

Mr. Das said barricading protest sites like Jantar Mantar or India Gate would not prevent young people from demonstrating, adding that the larger issue is the violation of rights.

He said the party had communicated with police through multiple channels and assured them of cooperation, while questioning the requirement for permission to protest. “The very concept of requiring permission from the State to protest against the State is absurd and not acceptable,” Mr. Das said.

He also said a high-level government delegation had contacted him while he was in Puducherry, which he said indicated that the Centre was aware of the seriousness of the issue.

Shiv Sena(UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Monday (August 3, 2026) responded to a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader’s comment calling the protest at Jantar Mantar ‘anti-national’. “How can a protest be anti-constitutional? No protest can be anti-constitutional,” he said.

“The history of the RSS is their ideology. They do not respect the Indian Constitution. They do not respect the tricolour. They do not respect India’s independence. They have never hoisted the tricolour over their office for the last 52 years. They want to create an independent constitution. That’s why they have created a group of 50 MP’s to destroy the Constitution,” Mr. Raut said.

Questioning the protests that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has held over the years, Mr. Raut said, “To call a protest anti-national is an insult to Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar’s Constitution. Then the protests carried out by the Bharatiya Janata Party over the last many years fit under which Constitution? The protest by Jayaprakash Narayan in 1975 within which Constitution’s framework? A respected leader of the RSS should tell the country that we, and the BJP, are not ready to respect the Constitution while running this country,” he said.

“The country’s youth gathered at Jantar Mantar to demand the resignation of a corrupt Education Minister, due to whom 20 students took their lives. If anyone thinks that asking for his resignation is not normal, then this Sangh person’s mentality should be checked,” Mr. Raut said.

“My challenge to the RSS leaders is that they should say whether the agitation at Jantar Mantar was unconstitutional or not, because the statement should be understood,” he added.

RSS leader Atul Limaye had said that the CJP protest at Jantar Mantar should be viewed as a weapon against the Constitution. He said this while addressing activists of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Maharashtra, earlier this week.

“If we want to become a developed nation, as Bharat Ji said in his speech, we need a significant contribution from our youth. But what kind of youth do we need? What values should they have? What dreams should they pursue? These are questions we must decide very carefully and thoughtfully,” Mr. Limaye said.

“This protest should not be viewed merely from a political perspective or simply as anti-BJP. It should be seen as a protest that has been used as a weapon against the Constitution. It should also be viewed as a protest raised against the nation, against India. We need to understand this force from that perspective,” Mr. Limaye added.

The fallout from last week’s nationwide protests demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan continues, amid multiple reports of people, including minors, being detained or arrested by the police, and social media users being asked to take down posts related to the demonstrations.

A 21-year-old man, who was detained by the police in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj after being identified from a photograph taken while he was participating in a protest on July 26, was released on Wednesday (July 29, 2026).

The victim, who did not wish to be identified, said that he was beaten up in police custody and the police wrongly accused him of vandalising a private vehicle, which belonged to a Bharatiya Janata Party member.

“They first called my father to the police station and then my mother. It was then that I went and surrendered myself to the police. I was merely there to protest, I was not involved in any vandalism, yet I was kept in detention for more than a day,” the victim said.

The Prayagraj Police had registered three First Information Reports (FIRs) at the Civil Lines police station on July 26 and July 27 in connection with the alleged vandalism of vehicles. The complainant in two cases are from he BJP, while in the third case, the son of a former BJP MP.

When contacted, a police official who answered the phone of Manish Kumar Shandilya, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Prayagraj City, said: “Nobody has been detained. People had been called for questioning based on CCTV footage, but they were released.”

Ten others were arrested in the case.

Rishav Ranjan of Congress party’s legal cell said that a 17-year-old boy from Bhagalpur in Bihar, who participated in a protest on July 25 was detained by the police from his home around 3.45 a.m. on July 26. The juvenile was among 40 others who were detained or arrested by the Bhagalpur Police after the protests turned violent.

Atulesh Jha, Superintendent of Police, Bhagalpur City said the juvenile was produced before the juvenile justice board and the family was aware of his whereabouts. “As per the assurance given by the Bihar government, the case pertaining to the violence during the (students) protest is being withdrawn and all the people who were arrested are being released. We have written to the JJ Board informing them about the withdrawal of the case and he will be released,” Mr. Jha.

The officer added that the police were also withdrawing photographs of 155 people, including boys and girls, that had been released on the basis of CCTV footage and showed individuals allegedly involved in violence during the protest.

Several Instagram users claimed that the videos related to the July 20 protests were being taken down. Akshay Chandra Madhav, an Instagram user said that several videos related to the “violence and brutality” posted by him were deleted by the platform.

On July 25, the Cockroach Janta Party called off its 36-day stir after the Centre agreed to its three main demands — ouster of Dharmendra Pradhan as the Union Education Minister, compensation for the families of those who ended their lives after the cancellation of NEET on May 3, and withdrawal of FIRs against the protesters and an assurance that no future action would be taken against them. The CJP had said that the agitation will resume if the “harassment of students at the hands of the police” continued.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a charge sheet against 13 arrested accused persons in the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak case, the agency said on Tuesday (July 28, 2026). All of them are currently in judicial custody.

The charge sheet comes days after Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned from the post on July 25, in the wake of over a month-long agitation led by the Cockroach Janta Party.

The agency has invoked provisions related to criminal conspiracy, cheating, criminal breach of trust, destruction of evidence and other associated charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act.

It has cited 360 witnesses, 422 documents, and 43 material objects in the charge sheet.

The agency registered the case based on a complaint lodged by the Department of Higher Education on May 12, alleging irregularities in the conduct of the NEET-UG 2026 examination, which was held on May 3. The test was subsequently cancelled.

The CBI formed multiple teams with 72 officials and personnel, along with eight cyber forensic experts, to investigate the case. Searches were carried out at 92 locations in Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, and other States.

“These searches led to the seizure of incriminating material like digital and communication devices, documents etc. Forensic imaging and analysis of the incriminating material has been undertaken,” said the agency, adding that source of the leak was unearthed within weeks.

“The path from source of the leak to the beneficiary candidates was unearthed, leading to the identification of the chain. The first arrest in this case was made on May 13, 2026, it said.

Among the arrested are three National Testing Agency (NTA) subject experts in chemistry (P.V. Kulkarni), biology (Manisha Gurunath Mandhare), and physics (Manisha Sanjay Havaldar).

Another key accused is Shivaraj Motegaonkar, a professor and owner of RCC Coaching Institute in Maharashtra’s Latur.

Several alleged intermediaries who sourced and distributed the leaked questions were also held. Tejas Harshadkumar Shah, physics faculty and chief operating officer at APMA Coaching Institute, Pune, was also arrested.

“Digital forensic analysis reports, handwriting expert opinions and academic experts’ opinions regarding leaked questions have been obtained. These reports confirmed the role of the accused in the circulation of leaked questions before the date of examination,” said the CBI. Further investigation is under way.

Newly appointed Union Education Minister Prahlad Joshi has taken charge, officials said on Sunday (July 26, 2026).

Mr. Joshi was appointed as Education Minister after Dharmendra Pradhan resigned from the post on Saturday (July 25, 2026).

Mr. Pradhan resigned from his post on Saturday (July 25), following the Cockroach Janta Party-led student protests across the country, demanding his ouster over the NEET paper leak controversy.

The President of India directed on Saturday (July 25) that Pralhad Joshi, Cabinet Minister, be assigned the charge of the Ministry of Education, in addition to his existing portfolio, as advised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, an official statement said.

Mr. Joshi currently holds the portfolios of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, and New and Renewable Energy.

The President, as advised by the Prime Minister, has accepted the resignation of Shri Dharmendra Pradhan from the Union Council of Ministers, with immediate effect, under clause (2) of Article 75 of the Constitution of India, the statement added.

Former J&K Chief Minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday (July 25, 2026) congratulated the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) for its “success” and said it has managed to “reclaim Mahatma Gandhi’s idea of India”. 

“For more than a month, these youths were out without food. They adopted a Gandhian style. The biggest success is that these youths reclaimed Gandhi’s idea of India. They have rejected and dismissed divisive politics, especially Hindu-Muslim politics. It has given hope, otherwise amid a sense of dejection. It seems the future of India is in safe hands,” said Ms. Mufti.

She praised the CJP for allowing her to speak at the Jantar Mantar recently and backed its demands for compensation to the families of students who ended their lives and an apology for the atrocities allegedly committed on the youth by the Delhi police.

“We were warmly welcomed despite the narrative of Kashmiris being separatists and anti-nationals. It was heartening to see that this generation puts more focus on the future of the country than the Hindu-Muslim divide. I am hopeful what J&K students faced outside will also stop now,” said Ms. Mufti.

She said what started in Kashmir is now reaching every corner of India. “Peaceful protests silenced with lathis. Constitutional promises broken. Institutions weakened. Today, minority rights are under threat. Tomorrow, no citizen’s voice or vote will matter. The unity seen at Jantar Mantar is the real backbone of this nation. This isn’t just a struggle for one community; it is a fight to save humanity, democracy, and the soul of India,” said Ms. Mufti.

Ms. Mufti also raised the issue of Muslim women, saying these women were facing “harassment for wearing a burqa or hijab.“ You cannot praise Islamic heritage and culture on visits abroad while turning a blind eye to the harassment of Muslim women at home. True empowerment isn’t a slogan for foreign trips. It is guaranteeing safety, dignity, and religious freedom for every woman in India,” she added.

Moments after Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation, the loud cheers at Jantar Mantar on Saturday were punctuated by a roaring announcement by the police – “Saare apne, apne ghar jaiye”.

“Attention, students. The government has accepted all your demands. You should all go home safely now,” the announcement echoed across a jam-packed Tolstoy Road, where a sea of students was celebrating, some standing on the road dividers, some others sitting on the pavements.

Police vehicles fitted with loudspeakers rolled through the roads surrounding Jantar Mantar, urging the crowd to return home “peacefully”.

While the declaration took many by surprise, prompting them to verify the information through their sources, the news of Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) winding up its 36-day agitation soon reached the crowd from the CJP stage.

It took a moment for the people to understand. “I could hardly believe my ears. They [police] already wanted to create confusion so that students would leave. I just picked my phone called one of my friends who was at Jantar Mantar itself. It was ‘not reachable’ twice, but on the third attempt, I was told that we have won,” said 22-year-old Vani Dev, who came from Dehradun to participate in the protest.

Paschim Vihar resident Anchal, 17, who goes by her first name only, was also among the crowd returning home but with an aim to come again on Sunday. The moment she was told that the CJP has called off the protest, she froze. “My phone died and I had no idea whom to speak with to verify the piece of news. Then I saw some reporters standing a few metres away discussing the same. I asked them if the news was true and they said yes,” said Ms. Anchal.

Even as police personnel moved through the crowd, requesting protesters to disperse in an orderly manner, a huge loudspeaker was installed near Palika Bazar in Connaught Place from where the police repeatedly informed the people that all gates of Rajiv Chowk metro station had been reopened and could be used to return home. “Saare metro stations khule hain. Aap ghar jaiye (All metro station gates are open. Please return home),” the announcement said.

Eighteen metro stations on the Blue, Yellow, Violet, and Airport Express (Orange) lines in central Delhi had been closed since 7.30 a.m. for the fourth consecutive day on Saturday owing to security concerns amid the CJP protest.

Confusion over access, however, persisted at Mandi House and Central Secretariat stations, where commuters attempting to exit were told by the metro staff that only entry was permitted, and the exit gates remained closed. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation later, in a post on X, announced that all metro stations were reopened and normal entry and exit had resumed.

CJP volunteers also joined the Rapid Action Force and the police in guiding students towards transit points.

‘Hope no more leaks’

Despite repeated appeals to disperse, the roads around Jantar Mantar remained packed well until late evening as students celebrated the announcement, exchanged sweets, and clicked what many described as their final selfies at a site that will be remembered for one of the largest and longest student protests in recent times.

“I hope that next year when I sit for the NEET exam, the paper won’t get leaked,” said Ms. Anchal.