NEW DELHI: Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) spokespersons Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das on Monday addressed a press conference along with independent Rajya Sabha leader and senior advocate Kapil Sibal, where they raised concerns over the alleged detention and arrest of protesters and announced measures to provide legal support and preserve evidence from the student-led agitation.The CJP also introduced ‘Saakshi’, a website and application designed to preserve original photos and videos from protests as tamper-evident evidence and facilitate their use by legal aid teams.Addressing the press conference, Das said the CJP had remained in touch with Sibal and sought his legal guidance, particularly over concerns that protesters could face action after the withdrawal of the 36-day agitation.“We were in constant touch with Kapil ji and had sought legal guidance. When we called off the protest on the 25th, we apprehended that in the future, once the movement subsided or the momentum of the protest waned, the government might start targeting individuals. This is a very credible apprehension, as the same playbook has been observed in other major protests where individuals were singled out and implicated in false cases. From day one, legal and medical assistance has been provided to all the students, and coordination with lawyers has been ensured so that they receive support across the country,” Das said.
CJP launches ‘Saakshi’ evidence vault for protest footage
At a joint press conference, CJP spokespersons also introduced ‘Saakshi’, a website aimed at helping protesters and witnesses preserve photos and videos from demonstrations as evidence.The platform allows users to upload original protest footage and generates a cryptographic fingerprint for each file to create a tamper-evident record. The preserved material can then be shared through verified legal-aid channels to support protesters facing alleged rights violations.CJP said Saakshi was created to prevent evidence from disappearing through phone seizures, deleted chats or expired links and to help legal teams access original footage with a clearer record of its provenance.Ranka had also warned that the organisation could resume its protest if the FIRs registered against students and other protesters are not withdrawn immediately and those detained are not released.In a post on X, Ranka addressed Union ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh and alleged that the government’s assurance of no punitive action against protesters was being breached. He claimed that hundreds of students had been arrested in Bihar and West Bengal, while others were being detained or harassed in Delhi and other states. “We are observing a complete breach of the agreement regarding no police action against the protestors. Hundreds of students have been arrested in Bihar and Bengal, and hundreds are being surveilled/harassed in Delhi and other states. Multiple reports are emerging in Delhi around detention of volunteers supporting protestors with logistics,” he wrote.Ranka said the CJP would be ‘forced to sit on protest again’ if the government failed to act on its demands.“We demand that all the FIRs against the protestors be immediately withdrawn, students be released and no future FIRs be filed (in line with our agreement) by Delhi police / Central investigative agencies / Police in BJP-allied states, FAILING WHICH WE WILL BE FORCED TO SIT ON PROTEST AGAIN,” Ranka further wrote.Concluding his post, Ranka wrote: “We also demand that the written agreement around legal cases be shared with us by tomorrow, the aligned timelines with the Government of India.” His remarks came amid continued legal action against protesters in Bihar following demonstrations on July 22 and July 25. Advocates claimed that nearly 200 people remained in custody across police stations in the state after the protests.Earlier, the CJP called off its 36-day agitation at Jantar Mantar following three rounds of talks with the Centre. The protest had sought accountability over alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG examination and wider reforms in the examination system.The CJP had withdrawn the agitation after the Centre accepted its key demands, including the resignation of then Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The government also agreed to take steps towards withdrawing FIRs against peaceful protesters, provide compensation to families of students who died by suicide in accordance with existing rules, and consider the group’s five-point charter on examination reforms.However, the CJP on Monday alleged that the agreement was not being implemented on the ground. The organisation said it had received reports of students and other protesters being detained or arrested in Bihar, West Bengal and Assam despite the government’s assurance that there would be no retaliatory action.Patna SSP Kartikeya K Sharma said 86 protesters arrested during the July 25 violence near Gandhi Maidan were sent to judicial custody, while 60 others, including women and minors, were released on personal bonds. Police also registered multiple FIRs in connection with the July 22 and July 25 protests.The warning comes amid a wider crackdown following the protests in Bihar, where a Siwan police personnel was suspended after allegedly firing an AK-47 during violence linked to the bandh. Police said several personnel were injured in the clashes.The CJP said its legal team was coordinating with lawyers in the affected states to secure the release of detainees and provide legal assistance.The organisation also urged the Centre to honour its commitment to provide a written agreement on the issue and ensure that FIRs against protesters are withdrawn.The CJP had ended its agitation after the Centre and the student group reached an understanding following the resignation of Pradhan. The former education minister stepped down taking moral responsibility amid weeks of protests over the alleged NEET-UG paper leak and examination irregularities.Following Pradhan’s resignation, the Centre appointed BJP leader Pralhad Joshi as the new Union education minister.
