Delhi Police detain 150 protesters; opposition condemns Dipke, Neha arrests

Delhi Police has detained Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke and All India Students' Association (AISA) President Neha Bora, along with 150 demonstrators, during the Lehra Do Tiranga rally of the Cockroach Janta Party, to gather at Central Park in Connaught Place on October 16 to hoist the Tricolour. According to CJP and AISA, the location of both Dipke and Neha remains unknown.

According to ANI, a police officer informed Dipke during arrest, “We are placing you under preventive detention. Section 163 is in force in Connaught Place. You are being detained.”
Authorities have served two separate notices on Dipke citing legal restrictions. The first is a notice under Section 163 of the BNSS issued by the New Delhi district under the Delhi Police Act, which legally bars him from visiting Central Park due to restrictions on public assembly in the area. The second is a bond violation notice issued by the South-West Delhi district, referring to a prior preventive action involving Dipke, Ashutosh and Saurav.

Meanwhile, the X account of AISA President Neha Bora claimed that Delhi Police has detained Neha Bora alone and taken her to an unknown location without her phone.

"In the van Neha has been detained there were two people in civil dress who are not detainees!

We demand to know has Delhi Police hired people outside their force?"

Cockroach Janta Party also claimed in a social media post that Delhi Police has taken Abhijeet Dipke to an unknown location and is not being allowed to speak to his lawyers.

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Opposition condemns detention without disclosing location

Reacting to the detention of CJP activist Abhijeet Dipke, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, in a post on X, said, “Today is the day of ‘Ekaranga’ versus ‘Tiranga’.”

The AAP convenor and former Chief Minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal, backed the movement, saying, “If we won't hoist the tricolour in our own country, then will we hoist it in Pakistan? Those who have a problem with the Indian tricolour should go to Pakistan.”

Former West Bengal Chief Minister condemned the detention of the CJP founder, Abhijeet Dipke, calling it an 'undeclared emergency'.

“Abhijeet Dipke has been detained for holding the Indian National Flag. Let that sink in. In Independent India, our youth are being detained for peacefully asserting their democratic rights.”

“This is nothing short of an undeclared Emergency. A government that fears dissent is now trying to intimidate an entire generation into silence. This is the conduct of a fascist regime that cannot tolerate a voice it cannot control,” wrote Mamata Banerjee in a social media post on the platform X.

Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin also backed the youth movement in Jantar Mantar and condemned the detention of Abhijeet Dipke and Neha Bora without disclosing their location as “illegal” and "inhumane".

“Where is@abhijeet_dipke? Where is@neha_aisa? Detaining them without disclosing their whereabouts is blatantly illegal and deeply inhumane. The Union Government must release them immediately and stop suppressing peaceful protests. Every attempt to crush the movement will only make it stronger.”

JMM MP Mahua Maji said, “Given what is currently unfolding in the country, everyone seems to be in a mood to protest. The BJP government came to power in 2014, was given another mandate in 2019, and then again in 2024. Yet, the situation has not improved. This has led to widespread disappointment and despair across all sections of society.”