Delhi protest security has been tightened around Connaught Place and Jantar Mantar ahead of the Cockroach Janta Party’s proposed “Lehra Do Tiranga” demonstration on October 16, with paramilitary companies and police personnel deployed across the capital, according to police sources cited by the Times of India and PTI.
The protest has been called by CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke at Central Park in Connaught Place at 5pm. Police personnel will be positioned at strategic locations, while barricades will be installed and the movement of protesters and commuters regulated to maintain law and order and prevent any untoward incident.
A senior police officer said Connaught Place is not a designated protest site. Jantar Mantar has also been denotified as a designated protest site, according to the officer. Demonstrations can instead be held at Ramlila Maidan, Burari Ground or CBD Ground after obtaining the required permission.
The security arrangements are being made against the backdrop of a dispute over the party’s attempts to organise demonstrations in Delhi. The proposed march follows the arrest of CJP leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka after they reached Jantar Mantar. They were subsequently remanded to five days of judicial custody by a special executive magistrate, the report said.
Dipke had earlier said that waving the national flag was not a crime and called for a flag march at Connaught Place on October 16. In a statement, he urged citizens to participate, asserting that waving the national flag was a democratic right. The party has also called for parallel Tiranga marches in other cities at 5pm on Friday.
The planned deployment places central Delhi’s public-space and commuter-management systems under additional pressure. Connaught Place is a major commercial and pedestrian district, while restrictions, barricading and regulated movement in the area can affect visitors, workers and road users even when a demonstration is limited to a specific location.
Police have not indicated that the proposed demonstration has been authorised at Central Park. Their stated position is that protests at alternative locations require the requisite permission. The immediate operational focus will therefore be on controlling access, managing movement around the two central locations and preventing any incident during the scheduled march.
The next significant milestone is the proposed “Lehra Do Tiranga” demonstration at 5pm on October 16, along with the parallel marches announced by the party in other cities.
