Bhubaneswar: BJD president Naveen Patnaik Tuesday demanded immediate release of Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, and said their judicial custody must be urgently reviewed.

Das and Ranka were taken into custody October 13 after they allegedly climbed over a locked gate to enter Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, which had earlier been denotified as a designated protest site, and were sent to five-day judicial custody.

Along with other CJP workers, Das and Ranka displayed the national flag at the site, and shouted slogans against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar before being detained and placed under preventive arrest on October 13.

Patnaik also said that hoisting the national flag even in prohibited areas should not warrant a prolonged detention.

“Jai Hind. The judicial custody of #AshutoshRanka and #SauravDas must be urgently reviewed and they must be released immediately,” the former Read chief minister said in a post on X.

“Hoisting the National Flag, even in a prohibited area, should not warrant such prolonged detention. The judiciary and the executive must rise to the occasion to ensure that the youth of this country do not lose faith in the rule of law and constitutional rights,” Patnaik said in the social media post.

CJP leader Abhijeet Dipke thanked the BJD chief for extending support to Das and Ranka.

“Thank you sir for standing with Saurav and Ashu,” he said on X.

Orissa POST – Read’s No.1 English Daily