Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder and convener Abhijeet Dipke was granted conditional bail by a Delhi court on Saturday after being arrested in connection with the party’s ‘Lehra Do Tiranga’ rally at Central Park in Connaught Place.
Dipke released after signing peace bond
According to Delhi Police, Dipke was granted bail by the Special Executive Magistrate’s court after signing a ‘peace bond’.
CJP’s head of legal affairs, Ratna Singh, confirmed his release in a post on X, saying: “Abhijeet Dipke released.”
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Earlier on Saturday, Singh complained about delays in court proceedings.
“The hearing was supposed to happen at 12 p.m. It’s 3:38 p.m. and no sign of it. If this isn’t deliberate, then what is? Release Saurav Das, Ashutosh Ranka and Abhijeet Dipke along with other detainees. You can’t take away people’s liberty by delaying the entire process,” she said in an earlier post on X.
CJP leaders detained ahead of rally
Dipke was detained on Friday while on his way to join the protest rally in Connaught Place and was later arrested.
CJP leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka had also signed similar bonds following their detention ahead of the protest.
All India Students’ Association (AISA) president Neha Bora was also detained near Mandi House as police tightened security across central Delhi. She was briefly released following her detention.
Police cite lack of permission for rally
The CJP had called for a ‘Tiranga Assembly’ at Central Park in Connaught Place at 5pm on Friday. However, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) denied permission for the event.
Ahead of the proposed rally, Delhi Police had served Dipke with two notices, informing him that Connaught Place was not a designated protest site and that the NDMC had not granted permission for the proposed Tiranga Yatra.
According to officials, one notice was issued by the New Delhi district authorities under the Delhi Police Act, directing individuals not to visit Central Park while prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) were in force.
A second notice was issued to Dipke by the South West Delhi authorities. It reminded him that he, along with CJP co-conveners Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das, had previously been ‘bound down’ — placed under a legal undertaking — following their preventive detention at the airport and subsequent production before a court.
The undertaking required them to refrain from causing public disturbances for one year.