NHRC issues notices over use of children in Cockroach Janta Party protest in Mumbai

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has taken a stern view of a Cockroach Janta Party protest held in Mumbai on 2 October 2026. It is alleged that minor children were wrongly used in the protest and that their photos and videos were circulated on social media.

The commission acted after a complaint from the Seva Nyay Utthan Foundation and another organisation. A bench headed by commission member Priyank Kanoongo intervened immediately in the matter under Section 12 of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993.

The commission has sent formal notices to the Mumbai Police Commissioner, the Secretary of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), X Corp's grievance officer in India, and the Chief Secretary of Maharashtra's Women and Child Development Department.

According to the complaints, videos and photos that went viral on social media show a small child being held up above the crowd with a tricolour and a placard. People standing nearby were raising slogans and filming on their mobile cameras.

The material submitted to the commission also indicates that the participation of minors was planned in detail on WhatsApp and other digital chat groups before the protest. The strategy in these conversations rested on the idea that the police would not detain minors. In other words, an attempt was made to use children as a shield to stop or limit legal action by the police. The minors were themselves members of these group chats and had given their consent.

The commission has asked the Mumbai Police Commissioner to investigate the whole matter thoroughly. If a cognisable offence is made out, an FIR must be registered immediately. The police have been told to fix the role of the organisers, coordinators, adults who brought the children, parents and everyone who promoted them.

The complaint names Ajinkya Shinde, Abhijeet Deepke, Saurabh Das and some others. The commission has ordered a separate examination and forensic analysis of their digital communications. It has laid particular stress on examining legal liability and the penal provisions under Sections 75 and 83(2) of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.

Given the spread of the videos and pictures on social media, the commission has asked X Corp to immediately preserve a full digital record of the accounts, posts, URLs, IP addresses and metadata concerned. The company has also been asked how such content was allowed to be uploaded and shared on the platform despite having automated child safety systems. The MeitY Secretary has been asked to carry out a legal review of X Corp's compliance and due diligence under the Income Tax Act, 2000 and the Income Tax Rules, 2021.

The commission said the welfare, dignity and privacy of children come first. It said affected children should therefore, where needed, be produced before the Child Welfare Committee, where they can receive necessary counselling (psychosocial support), care and rehabilitation.

Mumbai Police must submit a full Action Taken Report (ATR) to the NHRC within a week on compliance with these directions and the latest status of the investigation.