A protest march toward India's Parliament organised by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) in Delhi turned violent on July 20, 2026. The clashes broke out between demonstrators and police, escalating tensions in an ongoing campaign demanding the resignation of India's Education Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, over alleged examination paper leaks, Hindustan Times reported.

Police deployed barricades, batons and tear gas as the situation deteriorated, with both sides blaming each other for triggering the violence. Authorities reported 118 police personnel and 60 protesters injured, while 70 people were detained, with police preparing criminal charges against those involved.

Many demonstrators had gathered overnight at Jantar Mantar, the central Delhi protest site that has served as the movement's base, before the march disrupted traffic across much of the city centre.

Following discussions with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president JP Nadda, protesters returned to Jantar Mantar. During the clash between the student protestors and security forces personnel, videos documenting the use of blunt force by both sides were being shot and circulated on social media by local as well as global media conglomerates, and independent journalists.

However, the overwhelming number of independently documented instances of violence were attributed to security forces as they were trying to disperse the crowd. The clashes mark a significant escalation in the now months long standoff between protesters and India's government over education-sector accountability, with the CJP’s founding President Abhijit Dipke vowing to continue the agitation until their demands were met.

The protest’s other major icon Sonam Wangchuk who was taken to a hospital by the police on July 19 hasn’t been released but did manage to post a hand written note on social media outlining preconditions for breaking his hunger strike. Abhijit Dipke who had also vowed to undertake an indefinite hunger strike broke his just before embarking on the July 20 march to parliament with his supporters.