Cockroach party founder detained ahead of New Delhi voter list protest

Security has been tighted in New Delhi as India's youth "Cockroach" movement are set to hold fresh protests in the capital, intensifying a nationwide campaign against the government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's contentious voter list revision that is said to disenfranchise millions of voters.

Authorities have detained the movement's founder Abhijit Dipke ahead of the rally. Thousands of protesters are expected at Jantar Mantar, the city's designated protest site, where authorities have imposed sweeping restrictions including suspension of mobile internet.

The demonstration site has been cordoned off with yellow metal barricades and thousands of police personnel have been deployed in and around the area.

The protests come at a politically sensitive time, months after demonstrations led by the "Cockroach" movement over exam paper leaks forced Modi's education minister to resign in July.