Delhi Police detained Neha Bora and Abhijeet Dipke ahead of the Tiranga protest. Their organisations sought custody details, legal access and clarity on the grounds for detention.
Neha Bora and Abhijeet Dipke (File photo)
The whereabouts of Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke remained unknown on Friday night after his detention by Delhi Police, while the All India Students' Association (AISA) said its president Neha Bora had been traced to the RK Puram police station after hours of uncertainty over her location.
AISA alleged that Bora had been moved between locations across Delhi for nearly five hours. It said lawyers who reached the police station around midnight were denied access to her, while police had not clarified the grounds for her detention or when she would be released.
The student organisation also claimed that police were refusing to provide Bora with medication despite being aware that she had been unwell for the past few days.
“The police is not allowing lawyers to meet Neha at RK Puram. They are not allowing medication to be given too,” AISA said in a post on X, demanding to know under what charges she was being held.
“Why is Delhi Police holding Neha until midnight in a police station? When will Neha be released? Why is a women student leader being put in a police station at midnight?” the organisation asked.
CJP SEEKS DETAILS OF FOUNDER'S DETENTION
CJP alleged that Dipke had been taken to an undisclosed location and that the party had lost contact with him. It also claimed he was not being allowed to speak to lawyers.
“The Delhi Police has taken Abhijeet Dipke to an undisclosed location. We have lost contact with him. He is not being allowed to talk to lawyers,” the party said on X.
“Why does this government treat youth like terrorists? We are equal citizens of India and we deserve all the protections and rights of the Constitution!” it added.
The party questioned why Dipke had been detained when he was carrying the national flag on his way out of his residence.
“Abhijeet was just walking out of his home with a Tiranga in his hand! How can walking with a tiranga be a crime?” CJP asked, adding that the detentions would not discourage people from participating in the protests.
CJP also wrote to the station house officer of Delhi's Mandir Marg police station, seeking information about its founder's whereabouts.
In the letter, party leader Rohan Deshpande said the organisation had received no information about the police station or facility where Dipke was being held since his detention.
“This lack of information is deeply concerning,” Deshpande wrote.
He urged the police to immediately disclose Dipke's location, the legal provisions invoked against him and the grounds communicated for his preventive detention. He also sought details of the authority under whose directions Dipke had been detained and the officer responsible for his custody.
Deshpande further called on the police to ensure that Dipke could contact his colleagues and access legal counsel.
AISA ALLEGES REPEATED SHIFTING OF PRESIDENT
Bora's location had remained unclear for hours before AISA said she had been traced to the RK Puram police station. The organisation had earlier alleged that she was taken to an Anti-Narcotics Task Force facility in Delhi's South-West district before being moved elsewhere.
Former AISA president and CPI(ML) Liberation leader N Sai Balaji had questioned the police over her detention and the conflicting information about her location.
“Delhi Police please answer why Neha was detained alone by plain clothed men in a bus? Her last location shows she was taken to Anti-Narcotics Cell, Mangalapuri. Then why is the PS (police station) saying she is not there,” Balaji said on X.
“Is Delhi Police trying to kidnap her and arrest her,” he asked.
Balaji later alleged that police were moving Bora again after concerns were raised about her whereabouts, and questioned why she could not be released.
AISA also claimed that two people in plain clothes accompanying Bora in a van were not detainees, raising further questions about her safety.
The organisation said Delhi Police had refused to meet a delegation of lawyers and civil society members seeking her release. It subsequently called on people to gather in large numbers at Parliament Street police station to demand the release of detained protesters.
At 10 pm, AISA had posted on X that the whereabouts of its national president remained unknown.
It said a delegation comprising AISA activist Anjali, advocate Manik Gupta, RTI activist Anjali Bhardwaj, Professor Jitendra Meena and other activists and civil society members was heading to Parliament Street police station to meet senior police officials.
POLITICAL LEADERS DEMAND ANSWERS
CPI(ML) Liberation, in a statement issued on Friday night, said Bora was initially taken to an Anti-Narcotics Task Force facility in the South-West district and subsequently shifted to another location. The party said a legal team had been deployed to follow up on her detention.
It also said Dipke had been detained outside his place of stay ahead of the Tiranga march, with his whereabouts still unknown. The party demanded the immediate release of Bora, Dipke and all other detained protesters.
CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas said an AISA representative had informed him that Bora was picked up by Delhi Police at Mandi House while she was on her way to join the 'Lehra Do Tiranga' protest.
“Taken away alone, without her phone, her whereabouts are now unknown,” Brittas said on X.
“Detention cannot become disappearance. Delhi Police must disclose where Neha is, ensure her access to her family, friends and comrades. Moreover, police should explain the grounds for her detention,” he added.
CJP legal head Ratna Singh also demanded that police immediately disclose the whereabouts of both Bora and Dipke and inform their families and lawyers about their location and legal status.
“Where are Neha and Abhijeet? Delhi Police must answer,” Singh wrote on X.
POLICE CITE LAW-AND-ORDER CONCERNS
According to police sources, Dipke was detained at Jhandewalan while travelling towards Connaught Place, while Bora was picked up at Mandi House.
Police said around 150 people had been detained as part of measures to maintain law and order and ensure the smooth movement of traffic.
Security personnel cordoned off Central Park in Connaught Place, with Rapid Action Force personnel deployed inside the park and additional forces stationed in the area.
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