In Delhi over the last couple of days with Abhijeet Dipke and his Cockroach Janta Party. On Friday afternoon, just as he stepped out of the place he was staying in Jhandewalan, Delhi Police took him into preventive custody. The timing was no coincidence — he was heading for the ‘Lehra Do Tiranga’ gathering planned at Central Park in Connaught Place around 5 pm.
Dipke, who founded the CJP, had been saying for days that waving the national flag shouldn’t need anybody’s permission. The party called the event after a couple of its leaders, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, landed in judicial custody earlier in the week over a trespassing case linked to protests at Jantar Mantar. The broader demand has been the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over allegations of large-scale deletions from voter lists — figures floating around of more than 13 crore names removed in some claims.
Police had been outside Dipke’s temporary residence for hours. More than twenty officers showed up with two notices. One barred him from any demonstration or rally near Connaught Place, citing Section 163 of the BNSS and the risk of stampede or traffic chaos in a busy commercial area that supports lakhs of traders and workers. The second reminded him of the one-year peace bond conditions from an earlier preventive detention on October 10. Central Park itself was closed by the NDMC for administrative reasons on the 16th and 17th.
When Dipke finally walked out, still in a white T-shirt with a Gandhi photo on it, he unfurled a Tricolour and asked the officers why they were stopping him. Videos circulating show the brief exchange — him insisting he hadn’t broken any law and just wanted to wave the flag, police telling him Section 163 was in force and he was being detained. He was taken to Jaffarpur Kalan police station. Around the same time, AISA chief Neha Bora (sometimes reported as Neha Bohra) was also picked up near Mandi House while heading in the same direction.
Even with the main organiser in custody, supporters still managed flash gatherings in Connaught Place and Mandi House. People showed up with Tricolours, raised ‘Jai Hind’ slogans, and police moved in to disperse them. Reports put the number of detainees around 150 or so. Rapid Action Force units were deployed, and the area stayed under tight watch.
The political reactions came quickly. Arvind Kejriwal of the AAP called the detention “outright dictatorship” and asked if hoisting the Tricolour had become a crime. He added the line about people who have a problem with the flag going to Pakistan. AAP itself organised a separate Tiranga march near Rashtrapati Bhavan. Other opposition voices, including from Congress and the Samajwadi Party, also criticised the crackdown. On the other side, BJP leaders have painted the CJP actions as attempts to create anarchy or push regime-change narratives by using young people.
This isn’t the first time Dipke has been in preventive custody. Just a week earlier he and a couple of colleagues were detained at the airport ahead of another planned protest, and there have been earlier run-ins over student issues and exam leaks. The CJP started as a more satirical outfit but has grown into a regular protest presence around election integrity and youth concerns.
For now, the immediate question is how long the detention lasts and whether the party continues smaller actions. Police have said their priority is law and order and keeping traffic moving in a high-footfall area. Dipke and his supporters keep insisting that peaceful flag-waving shouldn’t be treated as a threat. The notices, the park closure, the heavy deployment, and the detentions have turned what was meant to be a simple Tiranga event into another flashpoint over free speech, protest rights, and how the authorities handle dissent in the capital.
Traders in Connaught Place had already voiced worries about daily losses running into crores if the area was disrupted. The Supreme Court had even taken note of those commercial concerns earlier. So the authorities are walking a tight line between allowing expression and preventing chaos in one of Delhi’s busiest spots.
Dipke has maintained throughout that the party remains committed to non-violence and that citizens should hold elected representatives accountable. Whether Friday’s events cool things down or pour more fuel on the fire is something the next few days will show. Right now, the main organiser is in custody, the planned venue stayed shut, and the debate over what counts as legitimate protest versus a law-and-order problem is once again front and centre in Delhi.
Sources:
- India Today
- The Tribune
- The Indian Express
- The Print
- Telangana Today
- Scroll.in
- NewsDrum
- PTI reports via multiple outlets (October 16, 2026)
@Rohit Manral
