CJP Leaders Walk Free After Almost a Day Behind Bars

On Tuesday evening, police in the capital finally unlocked the cells that had held three senior leaders of the Communist Janata Party (CJP) for just under 24 hours. The men – veteran organizer Rajesh Mohan, spokesperson Anjali Kumar and youth wing chief Sameer Singh – were taken into custody late Wednesday on charges of unlawful assembly and alleged incitement.

Witnesses say the three were handcuffed outside the party’s headquarters around 9 p.m., escorted to a local police station, and kept in a cramped, poorly ventilated detention room. "It felt like we were being squeezed into a closet," one on‑looked‑by, who asked to stay anonymous, recalled.

During their brief confinement, the detainees were reportedly denied access to legal counsel for more than twelve hours. Their families filed repeated pleas for a meeting, but officials cited “procedural formalities” as the reason for the delay.

Early Friday morning, a senior police officer announced that the three would be released on bail. "The investigation is ongoing, but we have no further grounds to keep them in custody at this stage," he said, adding that the party had been served a formal notice to appear before a magistrate next week.

The CJP issued a terse statement, calling the detention "politically motivated" and urging the authorities to respect democratic rights. "Our leaders were taken for merely exercising their constitutional freedom to protest," the statement read, while demanding an apology from the police.

Human‑rights groups have already weighed in, condemning what they described as “unwarranted intimidation of opposition figures.” Amnesty International’s regional director warned that such arrests could erode public trust in law‑enforcement agencies if not addressed transparently.

Opposition parties in the assembly echoed the sentiment, with the main rival, the National Democratic Front, demanding a parliamentary inquiry. "We cannot allow the state machinery to be weaponised against political dissent," said NDF leader Priya Sharma during a press briefing.

For now, the three CJP leaders are back with their families, but the episode has reignited a broader conversation about the balance between maintaining public order and safeguarding civil liberties in a vibrant democracy.