NEW DELHI — Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder and convener Abhijeet Dipke was detained on Friday by Delhi Police while on his way to take part in the ‘Tiranga Assembly’, called by him at the Central Park in Connaught Place (CP) at 5 pm, and minutes after CJP founder’s detention came news of the AISA chief Neha Bora’s detention.
Neha Bora, along with workers of AISA and other left-wing parties, was detained from near Mandi House while on her way to take part in CJP’s ‘Lehra Do Tiranga’ protest.
The CJP chief was served two notices by the Delhi Police hours before his detention, urging him to refrain from staging the gathering at CP, as the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has not given permission for the same and that prohibitory orders are in place at the venue.
The police further said that legal action will be taken for violating the prohibitory orders.
According to officials, one of the notices was issued on behalf of the New Delhi district authorities under the Delhi Police Act, instructing individuals not to visit Central Park, as Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) is currently in force.
A second notice was issued to Dipke by the South West Delhi authorities, reminding him that he, along with CJP co-conveners Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das, were previously ‘bound down’ (placed under a legal undertaking) following their preventive detention at the airport and subsequent production before a court.
This relates to the court’s directive requiring them to refrain from causing any public disturbance for a period of one year.
Earlier on Friday, Dipke defended the party’s protests, asserting that peaceful demonstrations were a democratic right and accusing the government of restricting citizens’ freedoms and disrupting business activities through shutdowns, Internet suspensions, and movement restrictions.
In a strongly worded post on X, Dipke said demanding accountability from the government, protesting against injustice and questioning public representatives could not be termed anarchy. He maintained that the party remained committed to Mahatma Gandhi’s principles of peace and non-violence despite what he described as attempts to provoke its members.
“Businesses do not suffer because of peaceful protests. They suffer when the govt decides to shut down an entire city, suspend Internet services, restrict the movement of its own citizens and turn the city into a war zone,” he posted.
Emphasising the CJP’s commitment to non-violence, Dipke said the pressure group had organised peaceful protests in several cities, including Mumbai, Pune, Jaipur, Lucknow, Bengaluru, and Nagpur.
Meanwhile in Delhi, hundreds of CJP supporters and members of student organisations carrying the national flag held a series of flash protests in central Delhi’s Connaught Place and Mandi House on Friday evening amid heavy police deployment.
The protesters walked through the inner circle of Connaught Place, intermittently raising the slogan of ‘Jai Hind’ before dispersing and regrouping at different spots. Some also sang the national anthem. — With inputs from IANS
