The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on Friday said the whereabouts of its founder Abhijeet Dipke remained unknown following 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.
The detentions took place ahead of the ‘Lehra Do Tiranga’ protests called by the CJP against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in electoral rolls and voter lists.
AISA alleged that Bora had been moved between multiple locations across Delhi for around five hours before she was traced to RK Puram police station. The organisation further claimed that lawyers who reached the police station around midnight were not allowed to meet her and that police had refused to provide her medicines despite knowing she had been unwell for several days.
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They were detained ahead of the CJP’s ‘Lehra Do Tiranga’ protest in central Delhi. Police cited restrictions in force in Connaught Place, while CJP and AISA said the activists were on their way to join the protest.
AISA said Bora was traced to the RK Puram police station after being moved between locations in Delhi. The organisation also said lawyers who went there were not allowed to meet her.
CJP said Dipke had been taken to an undisclosed location and that party members had lost contact with him. The party asked Delhi Police to disclose his whereabouts and the grounds for his detention.
Police cited prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the BNSS in Connaught Place and said the march had not received permission. Central Park was also closed to the public on October 16 and 17.
Delhi Police said around 150 people had been detained as part of efforts to maintain law and order and ensure smooth traffic movement.
“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?” AISA asked.
CJP seeks information on Dipke’s whereabouts
The CJP alleged that Dipke had been taken to an undisclosed location and that party members 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 in a post on X.
“Abhijeet was just walking out of his home with a Tiranga in his hand! How can walking with a tiranga be a crime?” it asked, adding that the detentions would not deter people from joining the protests.
The party also wrote to the station house officer of Mandir Marg police station, seeking information about Dipke’s location and the legal provisions invoked for his preventive detention.
In the letter, CJP leader Rohan Deshpande said the party had received no information about the police station or facility where Dipke was being held.
He urged Delhi Police to disclose Dipke’s whereabouts, the grounds for his detention and the identity of the officer responsible for his custody. The party also sought assurances that he would be allowed to contact colleagues and access legal counsel.
Political leaders question police over Neha Bora’s detention
CPI(ML) Liberation said in a statement on Friday night that Bora was initially taken to an Anti-Narcotics Task Force facility in the South-West district before being shifted elsewhere. The party said it had deployed a legal team to follow up on her detention and demanded the release of Bora, Dipke and other detained protesters.
CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas said an AISA representative had informed him that Bora was picked up at Mandi House while travelling to join the protest.
“Taken away alone, without her phone, her whereabouts are now unknown,” Brittas said in a post 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 disclose the whereabouts and legal status of both activists and inform their families and lawyers.
Police sources said Dipke was detained at Jhandewalan while on his way to Connaught Place, while Bora was detained at Mandi House.
Over 150 detained as protests spread across central Delhi
Delhi Police said around 150 people had been detained as part of efforts to maintain law and order and ensure smooth traffic movement.Security personnel cordoned off Central Park in Connaught Place, with Rapid Action Force personnel deployed inside and additional forces stationed in the area. Central Park was closed for two days amid heavy barricading and the deployment of security personnel.
Despite police denying permission for the CJP’s ‘Lehra Do Tiranga’ march at Connaught Place, hundreds of party supporters and student activists staged flash protests in central Delhi on Friday evening. Carrying the national flag and raising slogans of “Jai Hind”, protesters walked through parts of Connaught Place before dispersing and regrouping at different locations. Some also sang the national anthem.
Meanwhile, AISA and Left party members demonstrated near Mandi House, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, a rollback of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and the withdrawal of the 2023 Election Commissioner Appointment Act.
The CJP had called the march after party activists Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das were sent to five days of judicial custody for allegedly trespassing at Jantar Mantar, which has been denotified as a designated protest venue.
According to a police statement, the action followed an incident on the morning of October 13, when the three activists and 11 other CJP members allegedly entered the denotified Jantar Mantar protest site through private premises.
(With PTI inputs)