From July 6 to 25, Delhi’s Jantar Mantar witnessed a carefully orchestrated agitation that claimed to seek justice for the NEET question paper leak, but quickly exposed a far uglier reality. What was initially presented as a spontaneous, leaderless Gen Z movement under the banner of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) gradually revealed signs of external funding, organised disruption, repeated assaults on police personnel, and acts of intimidation that went far beyond legitimate democratic dissent. The simple narrative of an organic, hashtag-driven uprising with no organisers and no money has therefore become increasingly difficult to sustain. Over time, the protest was infiltrated by miscreants and anti-national elements who exploited the situation— just as the nation witnessed during the anti-CAA protests of 2019–20.
Sponsorship videos and related revelations showed daily food orders worth ₹2,000–10,000 placed through delivery platforms, with some originating from Dubai, Canada, the United Kingdom, Qatar and elsewhere. Together with Meta’s admission that money was spent boosting certain content, these developments suggest a well-orchestrated rather than spontaneous movement.
Dubai Businessman: Flew staff
On July 25, twenty-three men arrived in Delhi after more than four-hour flight from Dubai. They were not students or activists, and they had no personal stake in India’s examination-policy politics. They worked at Abreco Freight, a logistics company run by a Malayali businessman named Mohammed Shaji Madathil from Keralam’s Nilambur of Malappuram district. For the next few days, their only task was to stand at Jantar Mantar and lend support to the protest. Food, accommodation, local transport and other miscellaneous expenses were sponsored by their boss, Mohammad Shaji. The team sent to the capital was led by three men named Irshad, Anfas and Toyo. They arrived in Delhi with arrangements for at least a week, or for as long as the protest continued. Fortunately, the day they landed was the end of the protest.
“They Were Not Students, But Political Goons”
Concrete evidence has now come to light regarding the cockroach janatha party (CJP) led protest at Jantar Mantar, exposing deep-seated conspiracies orchestrated behind the veil of student demonstrations.
Dubai-based Malayali businessman fully funded the travel expenses and accommodation of 23 employees from his own company. This is not merely an allegation; it is a substantiated fact backed by undeniable proof. It clearly indicates that several entities harboured ulterior motives under the guise of student activism, with this foreign-based businessman’s actions serving as a glaring example. These staffs aren’t students but political Goondas.
The involvement of the Malayali businessman, in particular, raises profound suspicions. Funding and shipping people into a student protest can by no means be viewed as a noble or well-intentioned act. One must question the vested interests of a businessman willing to spend lakhs of rupees just to dispatch his own staff to a protest. This grave issue has already been raised in the Parliament. The nation has successfully unmasked their true agenda. The scheme was to pull strings behind the scenes, utilising students as proxies to create widespread unrest. It is my sincere hope that strict action will be taken against everyone operating from foreign soils against India’s sovereignty.
— Rajeev Chandrasekhar, BJP Keralam president
They may not have known the precise reasons behind the CJP protest; all they understood was that it was directed against the Narendra Modi government, an administration they said they did not support. They also openly stated that their employer had arranged a travel package, including expenses, for their participation at Jantar Mantar.
Feel-good story, until you do the math
As news channels and influencers began filming the participants at Jantar Mantar, this group was caught on camera. They spoke enthusiastically about how their boss had taken a peculiar interest in supporting the Cockroach protest. While “celebrating” at the venue, one of Mohammad Shaji’s men said: “Our boss sent us here to support the CJP and he bore the cost of the flight tickets.” They declared it as the proudest moments of their lives before heading back to the Gulf.
Although the video went viral, they did not realise the seriousness of openly revealing their boss’s eagerness to support an agitation on Indian soil. At first glance, this seems like a simple story—a business owner’s gesture of support, with employees taking a paid trip to witness a ‘cause’. But when you think about it a little longer, the financial aspect raises questions.
Now a Simple Math
A rough estimate shows that flying 23 employees from Dubai to New Delhi, even for a single day, would involve substantial expenditure. Using the most conservative rates for travel, stay, food and other costs, the calculation is as follows:
- With Return airfare: approximately Rs 30,000 per person (minimum)
- Accommodation and food: around Rs 4,000 per person per day
- Other expenses and local travel: about Rs 3,000
This brings the estimated cost to roughly ₹37,000 per employee. Even on a lower conservative figure of Rs 35,000 per person, the total outlay for one day alone would be close to Rs 8 lakh. These men were handpicked and sent to the protest site with plans to remain for at least a week. This naturally raises several questions. Why would a Dubai-based businessman, who owns multiple companies, choose to incur such an expense to facilitate the participation of employees in a political protest in India? What motive did he have? If the protest itself has been the subject of allegations relating to foreign funding or vested interests, the financial backing of participants assumes greater public significance and deserves closer examination.
Flight of Fancy
A background search on Abreco Freight and its CEO, Mohammad Shaji Madathil, also points to reports referring to legal proceedings involving him in Dubai and claims that he has not been able to return to Keralam for the past three years. Shaji is associated with more than 19 business entities, primarily operating in the logistics, transport, automotive and construction sectors across Keralam, Karnataka and Maharashtra. However, not all of these entities are currently operational, with some having ceased to exist or become inactive. He is also reportedly associated with several new business ventures in his native district, Malappuram and other parts of the state. This disparity has turned a feel-good moment into a question. If the claims about Shaji’s financial situation are true, where did the money for this operation come from? Was it all his, or did it come from elsewhere? Neither Shaji nor Abreco Freight has provided a public breakdown of the trip’s costs. Md Shaji doesn’t have the kind of business track record that would make this an easy gesture to absorb.
Who benefits from unstable India
Supporting a public cause or participating in a peaceful protest is a democratic right. Any Indian citizen is free to back an issue they believe in, and an employee who takes unpaid leave to travel and join a protest is exercising a personal choice.
However, a different set of questions arises when an employer with no apparent direct connection to the issue sponsors the travel of 23 employees from Dubai to participate in a protest. The matter warrants scrutiny, particularly because allegations of foreign funding and external influence have been raised in connection with the agitation. The timing and chronology are what should concern anyone who cares about this country’s stability. A government that has spent a decade and more building India’s credibility as a serious, rising economic power now faces yet another viral moment engineered to project an image of chaos on the streets.
It has happened before: foreign-linked money finding its way into domestic protest movements, NGOs and individuals with opaque funding trails, activists amplified disproportionately by international media the moment they turn against the Indian state. Each time, the defenders of these movements insist it’s coincidence. Each time, the paper trail — when agencies are finally allowed to follow it — tells a different story.
BJP Files Complaint with MHA
A complaint filed with the Ministry of Home Affairs states that Dubai-based businessman Mohammad Shaji Madathil used offshore financial networks to fund travel and participation in the Jantar Mantar protest. BJP leader Aji Thomas has sought a multi-agency probe by the NIA, ED, SFIO, and IB into the matter.
Reports indicate that the 23 employees may not have been the only ones whose participation in the CJP’s NEET protest was sponsored. This raises critical questions: Were additional individuals — including people from Keralam, public figures, or other participants — also given financial or logistical support?
“PFI’s Indirect Funding- UDF and LDF built this ecosystem”
“The pattern is closely linked to Keralam’s political ecosystem. Over the years, the influence of Left politics, combined with networks of jihadist and urban Naxal elements, has created an environment that enables such forces to operate. I believe both the UDF and the LDF have, over time, allowed this ecosystem to strengthen. Following the ban on the Popular Front of India (PFI), many such networks have shifted to operating through sleeper cells, providing financial and logistical support from behind the scenes rather than participating openly. PFI played a visible role during the anti-CAA and Shaheen Bagh protests, I believe similar elements have adopted more indirect methods in recent agitations. Apart from sponsoring 23 employees, reports also suggested that food deliveries and other logistical support originated from Keralam—particularly from a single district—as well as from overseas. After the Modi government came to power, stricter oversight of foreign funding was introduced through measures such as the FCRA framework. The objective of such efforts is to create instability and weaken India’s democratic institutions.”
— K Surendran, Former BJP Keralam President
According to the complainant, Aji Thomas, Mohammad Shaji facilitated the participation of 15 employees from his company in Keralam in the Jantar Mantar protest, in addition to the 23 employees who were flown in
from Dubai.
