CJP fails to breach Connaught Place; where are Dipke, Bora, Opposition asks govt

Delhi's Connaught Place turned into a fortress as police detained CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke and AISA president Neha Bora before their 'Lehra Do Tiranga' march could take off. With both organisations questioning their leaders' whereabouts, Opposition leaders, including MK Stalin, demanded their release and accused the Modi government of suppressing peaceful protests.

In Short

• CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke detained before protest began
• AISA president Neha Bora led march, later detained at Mandi House
• Around 150 protesters held, leaders denied lawyer access

By 5 pm on Friday, Delhi’s Connaught Place had turned into a fortress, with security tightened ahead of the ‘Lehra Do Tiranga’ march called by Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke. But the protest was over before it could begin. Minutes before the clock struck five, a brief altercation ended with Dipke being taken into police custody.

At 4.50 pm, Dipke stepped out of NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) leader Anish Gawande’s residence in Karol Bagh, wearing a white T-shirt bearing Mahatma Gandhi’s picture, with the Indian flag wrapped around him. For several hours before that, a team of police personnel had made Dipke sign several documents, prohibiting him from marching towards the protest site “without seeking lawful permission.”

Dipke was seen repeatedly arguing with the police, insisting that he was not staging a protest but was simply stepping out to unfurl the Indian flag at Connaught Place. “Is that also not allowed?” he asked.

At one point, he went so far as to tell the police to hang him, questioning their actions. “You are just writing down whatever you feel like. This is ridiculous. Phansi pe chadha do na. Kya mazak hai ye? (Hang me. What kind of a joke is this?),” he said.

That, however, did not dampen the morale of All India Students’ Association (AISA) president Neha Bora, who went ahead with the march, attempting to break through the human chain formed by paramilitary and police personnel to reach Central Park, at the heart of Connaught Place.

Nearly 2,000 people had gathered in response to Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke’s call to march to the park and unfurl the Indian flag. Both AISA and CJP have been demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

However, Bora, who redirected the flash protest towards Mandi House around 5.20 pm, was detained soon after. Whatever remained of the protest fizzled out by 7 pm following her detention amid a massive deployment of CAPF and police personnel.

Dipke and Bora were among 150 protesters who were detained. Both CJP and AISA, however, said they had no information about their leaders’ whereabouts and alleged that they were being denied access to lawyers. The two organisations sought information about Dipke and Bora after Delhi Police preventively detained them during protests in the national capital.

Several voices from the Opposition party, including DMK president MK Stalin, demanded their immediate release and urged the Modi government to stop suppressing peaceful protests.

“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,” Stalin said.

Reiterating that “CEC Gyanesh Kumar must go,” the DMK chief claimed that the BJP-led Central government had no other option.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also demanded answers from the authorities, asking, “WHAT IS DELHI POLICE UP TO?”

“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,” she added.

In a post on X, the CJP asked why the government was treating young people like terrorists. It said they were equal citizens of India and entitled to the rights and protections guaranteed by the Constitution.

Tagging Delhi Police, the organisation sought answers about Dipke’s whereabouts. It said he had merely stepped out of his home carrying the Tricolour and asked how walking with the national flag could be considered a crime.

The uncertainty over Dipke and Bora’s whereabouts stretched into the dead of night. After midnight, Ajinkya Shinde, national organisation in-charge of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), stood outside Parliament Street police station with Anish Gawande beside him, telling the media that they were still making inquiries but had received no answers about Dipke’s whereabouts.

The CJP said detaining one Abhijeet would prompt thousands of others to stand up. It added that if one Saurav was jailed, thousands of others would take to the streets, and if one Ashutosh was jailed, thousands would reach Delhi. Calling the Tricolour its life and pride, the organisation said nobody could stop it.

AISA, meanwhile, said in a post on X that its president, Bora, was being held alone at the Anti-Narcotics Task Force facility in Mangolpuri. In a subsequent post, the association alleged that she was being moved from the facility to an undisclosed location in a car with illegally blacked-out windows.

Former AISA president N Sai Balaji asked Delhi Police why plain-clothes personnel had detained Bora alone in a bus, reported PTI. He said her last known location indicated that she had been taken to the Anti-Narcotics Cell in Mangolpuri, while the police station claimed she was not there. He also asked whether Delhi Police was trying to kidnap and arrest her.

In an earlier statement, AISA said Bora had been detained in a van in which two people in civilian clothes were present but were not detainees. The association asked whether Delhi Police had engaged people from outside the force and sought confirmation that Bora was safe.

Dipke was detained at Jhandewalan while travelling to Connaught Place, while Bora was detained at Mandi House.

- Ends
Photo credits: PTI and ITG