Delhi Police arrest CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke over rally

Delhi Police arrested Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke in connection with the party’s ‘Lehra Do Tiranga’ rally in Connaught Place. The arrest came amid tensions over protests, detentions and restrictions on gatherings at designated locations in Delhi.

New Delhi: Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke was arrested and is to be produced before an SEM court on Saturday.

The arrest was in connection with the CJP’s ‘Lehra Do Tiranga’ rally at Central Park in Connaught Place on Friday.

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“Abhijeet is arrested and will be produced before SEM court. His location is still unknown, and lawyers haven’t met him,” CJP legal affairs head Ratna Singh said in a post on X.

All India Students’ Association (AISA) member Neha Bora was also detained near Mandi House as police tightened security across the heart of Delhi. She was briefly released after her detention.

The detentions came amid tensions over protests following the arrest and judicial remand of two CJP co-convenors, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, who were sent to five days of judicial custody after allegedly entering Jantar Mantar and unfurling the national flag on October 13, a day after the designated protest site was de-notified.

This was the second time in a week that Dipke had been detained by the Delhi Police. He was earlier taken into custody shortly after arriving in the national capital from Mumbai to participate in a protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged manipulation of electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).

Ahead of Friday’s proposed rally, the Delhi Police had served Dipke a notice informing him that Connaught Place was not a notified protest site and that the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) had not granted permission for the proposed Tiranga Yatra.

The notice, issued under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), warned that holding the march or assembling a crowd would violate prohibitory orders in force in the area.

During an interaction with police personnel at his residence, Dipke questioned the grounds for his detention, asking, “What kind of accusation have you levelled against me?”

When told that he could not go to New Delhi and was being detained, he responded that he could go elsewhere and questioned what law he had violated.

Police clarified that waving the national flag was not prohibited, but organising an unauthorised procession and gathering a crowd in violation of restrictions could invite legal action. Dipke was also reminded of the provisions of the Flag Code concerning the respectful display of the national flag.