The Tiranga March Delhi planned at Connaught Place on October 16 faces a permission hurdle after police said organisers had not sought approval for the gathering, while two senior members of the Cockroach Janta Party have been sent to five-day judicial custody over an alleged security breach at Jantar Mantar.
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke announced the march for 5 pm at Central Park in Connaught Place. In a statement posted on X on Wednesday, Dipke appealed to people to bring the Tricolour and said that “waving the Tricolour is not a crime”. He also said he might be arrested after the march but would proceed with the programme.
Police said permission is required for the proposed gathering at Central Park and that the organisers had not applied for it. Prohibitory orders under Section 163 are currently in force, and the Indian Express reported that these restrictions could make permission for the march difficult to obtain.
The proposed event follows the arrests of CJP members Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka. They were detained after allegedly entering the Jantar Mantar protest site on Monday through a narrow lane behind the Janata Dal (United) office. According to the report, a group of 14 people climbed over a locked iron gate, unfurled the Tricolour and raised slogans before being detained by police.
Das and Ranka were sent to five-day judicial custody at Tihar Jail. The other 12 people detained during the incident were released, according to the report. Two separate cases were registered against Das and Ranka. One case was filed at Connaught Place police station under provisions relating to disobedience of an order issued by a public servant, house trespass and criminal conspiracy. The second case was registered at Parliament Street police station.
The arrests mean that Das and Ranka are likely to miss the Connaught Place gathering if it goes ahead on October 16. Dipke’s announcement asked supporters who could not travel to Delhi to organise Tiranga March events in their own cities.
The proposed march also places Central Park and the surrounding Connaught Place area under a heightened policing and permissions framework. The report does not state whether the organisers have since submitted an application or whether police have issued a final decision on the gathering.
The next formal developments will depend on whether the organisers seek permission and how the authorities respond before the announced 5 pm programme on October 16.
