Police in India's capital detained scores of young protesters on Saturday, including the founder of a fast-growing protest movement, as thousands of officers locked down central New Delhi.

The protest was organized by the Cockroach Janta Party, a group that began as an online joke and has turned into a street movement. Its founder, Abhijeet Dipke, was detained at Delhi airport after flying in from Mumbai, The Guardian and Reuters reported. Two other leaders were taken off their flight after landing.

The group wants Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to resign. It says a review of voter lists that removed about 130 million names helps Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party. That is more people than live in Japan, Reuters noted. Election data show the removals include 63 million people who moved, 30 million who could not be found and 28 million who died. The election commission says the work is not finished and wrongly removed voters can sign up again. Kumar has not commented, and the commission and the BJP deny the claims.

The protests began last week after the Indian Express reported that Kumar's own deputies had questioned the review.

Police refused permission for the march, saying the request came too late. Dozens of metro stations were closed, some trains were canceled and mobile internet was cut within about 2.5 miles of the protest site, The Guardian reported. India's Supreme Court said some trains must still run.

"Why is the prime minister so scared of the country's youth?" Dipke asked before leaving Mumbai.

The protests are a new test for Modi, months after similar demonstrations forced his education minister to quit over leaked exam papers. Key state elections begin in early 2027.

What we know: Protest leaders were detained, and much of central Delhi was shut.
What we don't: How many people were detained across India.