The Cockroach Janata Party has accused Uttar Pradesh Police of targeting the family of volunteer Mohd Junaid after he supplied food and drinking water to demonstrators at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar.
The group said officers were pursuing Junaid rather than criminals and alleged that his relatives were being harassed because of his involvement in the protest over examination leaks. It said its legal team was in contact with him and pledged to challenge any unlawful police action in court.
Junaid, a resident of Nahal village in Ghaziabad district, told reporters that personnel from Masoori police station searched his family home on Thursday evening. He alleged that his father, Mustafa, was taken away and that officers seized bank passbooks and identity documents. Accounts differ on whether the documents included PAN cards, Aadhaar cards or both.
His sister said police asked Mustafa to telephone Junaid and tell him to return from Delhi. Junaid also alleged that officers released his father that night before taking him away again the next morning. He said pressure was extended to relatives in neighbouring Meerut district, including members of his sister’s marital family.
Meerut Police denied detaining any of Junaid’s relatives. Senior Superintendent of Police Avinash Pandey said no such matter had come to his notice, while Superintendent of Police Vinayak Gopal Bhonsle said station heads had been contacted and no detention had been established. No detailed response from Ghaziabad Police was reported in the accounts reviewed by Sunday morning.
The competing claims leave key questions unresolved, including whether any family member was formally detained, questioned without arrest or asked to assist an inquiry. It is also unclear under what legal authority documents were allegedly removed and whether a written seizure record was provided. No first information report naming Junaid in connection with the protest has been made public.
The controversy emerged as the CJP ended its 36-day agitation after three rounds of talks with the Centre. The movement had demanded accountability for the NEET-UG paper leak, examination reforms, compensation for families of students who died by suicide, withdrawal of cases against protesters and the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Pradhan resigned on Saturday, after which the government said cases linked to the agitation would be withdrawn and no retaliatory action would be taken against participants. Ministers also agreed to provide compensation under applicable rules and consider a five-point charter on examination reforms. The CJP then asked supporters to leave Jantar Mantar peacefully.
The allegation involving Junaid places an early test before that assurance. Although his claims concern Uttar Pradesh Police rather than the Delhi force that managed the capital’s demonstrations, the CJP has framed the episode as punishment for participation in lawful dissent. Any verified attempt to pressure a volunteer through relatives would deepen demands for independent scrutiny of police conduct.
The protest movement began as a satirical online campaign in May before expanding into a nationwide platform for anger over paper leaks, recruitment failures and limited job opportunities. Tens of thousands joined a march towards Parliament on July 20, where clashes broke out after police used batons and tear gas. Police said 60 civilians and 118 personnel were injured, while organisers maintained that hundreds of protesters were hurt.
Images of the confrontation drew opposition parties into the campaign and disrupted Parliament. CJP leaders, while accepting political support, repeatedly said the movement would remain outside electoral politics. Its organisers have sought to preserve that distinction while building a legal campaign around alleged excessive force and preventive detentions.
On Saturday, CJP representatives met Delhi Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar and said they would pursue complaints against officers and Rapid Action Force personnel shown striking protesters in videos or photographs. They also acknowledged cooperation from sections of Delhi Police during the agitation, signalling that their legal strategy would focus on specific acts rather than a blanket confrontation with law enforcement.
