Bhaag Neha Bhaag draws 2,700 players in CJP protest game wave

Bhaag Neha Bhaag drew about 2,700 verified players after CJP-linked protests at Delhi's Jantar Mantar inspired free online games, the Times of India said on Oct. 16, citing PTI.

The pickup is modest by commercial-game standards but quick for hobby projects: Jantar Mantar Chalo reached around 2,000 simultaneous users on one day and averaged 500 regular players, the Oct. 16 news report said.

Suraj Kushwah, a 27-year-old Bareilly resident who works at a cloud gaming company, created Jantar Mantar Chalo using artificial intelligence tools and gaming knowledge in about one-and-a-half days. “I was watching the news and, out of sarcasm, thought of making a game around it,” Kushwah told PTI.

Jantar Mantar Chalo lets users play as either protesters or Delhi Police personnel, the report said. Protester gameplay involves gathering people and moving toward Jantar Mantar; police gameplay centers on detaining protesters. Tear gas and water cannons appear as obstacles, while media interviews can increase a protester character's influence and draw more people into the crowd.

Anav Nayar, a 30-year-old screenwriter and filmmaker who co-founded Wizloop Studios with his brother Akshay Nayar, built Bhaag Neha Bhaag around AISA president Neha Bora's repeated attempts to reach Jantar Mantar, according to the report. “We were following how Neha Bora and other protesters were trying to reach Jantar Mantar. They were detained but the very next day, they were back at the spot,” Nayar told PTI.

Bhaag Neha Bhaag borrows from runner and platform-game conventions, with a Neha character avoiding police personnel, cars and barricades while collecting the letter “D” for democracy, the report said. Nayar said the brothers were planning updates to represent Neha respectfully.

The brothers also made Jantar Mantar to Jail, where players select from CJP members Abhijeet Dipke, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka. The game awards points for collecting coins marked “Accountability” and “Democracy” while avoiding police personnel and falling jail bars, according to the report.

The games extend a familiar protest pattern into a playable format: memes, slogans and video clips from the street become light, shareable mechanics online. The report said users circulated reels about Jantar Mantar Chalo, while the Nayars received direct messages asking for the Bhaag Neha Bhaag link.

The political backdrop remains contested. The Times of India said CJP led June and July protests, including a July 20 march to Parliament demanding the resignation of then Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan. In October, CJP joined opposition parties and student organisations in demonstrations seeking chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation over alleged irregularities in the Election Commission's functioning and the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.

The report did not give full traffic data for every game, identify a revenue model or say whether the player counts were independently audited. It described the titles as free online games rather than commercial releases.

Source: News report, Times of India citing PTI, Oct. 16, 2026