Police arrested Indian "cockroach" movement founder Abhijeet Dipke, according to several media reports on Saturday, after he was detained on Friday ahead of a Delhi rally that drew hundreds of people waving the national flag and demanding the resignation of India's election chief.
Broadcasters NDTV and India Today said Dipke was arrested to prevent a breach of the peace and will be called before a Special Executive Magistrate on Saturday.
Delhi police did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
The youth-led 'Cockroach Janta Party' (CJP), opposition groups, and student organizations have held near-daily protests this month demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation over a voter-list revision that critics say favors Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
More than 130 million voters were deleted during the revision, but the Election Commission has denied favoring any party and said wrongly deleted voters can re-enroll. The BJP has accused rivals of trying to undermine democracy by wrongly questioning legitimate electoral processes.
Student activist: 'Please, spare the people of India'
Student activist Neha Bora, a prominent face of the protests, who was also detained on Friday as she tried to reach central Delhi with dozens of supporters, was released on Saturday.
"Please, spare the people of India. Impeach Gyanesh Kumar and halt SIR (special intensive revision), so that the ordinary citizens of this country can breathe a sigh of relief, feel at ease, and have their voting rights ensured," Bora told ANI news agency after she was released.
Dipke was detained on Friday as he stepped out of a house in central Delhi, with police hauling him into a police car and driving away after a brief argument.
Dipke called Friday's protest in support of two CJP leaders detained and sent to jail this week for five days for demonstrating at a protest site in violation of a ban.
The group and left-wing student organizations had urged supporters to gather at the Central Park in New Delhi's busy Connaught Place shopping and food district on Friday evening to wave and hoist the national flag.
Police officers earlier detained Dipke as he left a house
The live video on CJP's Instagram handle showed Dipke coming out of a house and walking towards the street, where police officers stopped him and, after a brief argument, hauled him into a police car and drove away.
"We are detaining you right now," a police officer could be heard telling Dipke.
"I have not broken any law right now...how can you detain me?" Dipke asked the police officers as he was taken away.
There was no immediate comment from the police on the detention.
Earlier on Friday, police met Dipke and warned him against going ahead with the protest.
The cockroach movement has emerged as one of the biggest political challenges Modi and the BJP have faced in the prime minister's 12 years in power.
A weeks-long sit-in by supporters of the movement earlier this year forced Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to resign over exam paper leaks.