Security has been intensified around Connaught Place and Jantar Mantar ahead of the Tricolour March announced by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), while the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has informed police that Central Park will remain closed on October 16 and 17 for administrative reasons.
The march is scheduled to begin at 5 pm on Friday at Central Park in Connaught Place. CJP convener Abhijeet Dipke has alleged that police personnel in plain clothes were monitoring the place where he was staying and that a white Scorpio vehicle had been following him. Dipke shared photographs on X showing the vehicle and several people standing near a roadside at night.
In his post, Dipke claimed that the area around his accommodation had been surrounded by plain-clothes police personnel. He also alleged that the vehicle continued to follow him at different locations. The report did not include a police response confirming or denying the allegations.
The march has been announced to protest the arrest of CJP co-convener Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka by Delhi Police. The Aam Aadmi Party has extended support to the event, while other student organisations are also expected to participate. The organisers have asked people to gather at Central Park and join the march.
The proposed closure of Central Park has added a public-space dimension to the planned demonstration. According to the report, the NDMC wrote to police informing them that the park would be closed on October 16 and 17 for administrative reasons. Dipke criticised the decision in an X post and questioned whether similar closures would be ordered if organisers announced demonstrations at 100 other locations.
Delhi Police has increased security around Central Park and adjoining areas of Connaught Place and Jantar Mantar. The report said that security personnel were maintaining surveillance across the area ahead of the gathering. It did not provide details of the number of personnel deployed, traffic restrictions or any changes to public transport operations.
The Delhi High Court has refused to stop the proposed march after Delhi Police gave security assurances, according to the report. The court’s decision allows the event to proceed, subject to the security and administrative arrangements described by the authorities.
The developments place the planned gathering at the intersection of public assembly, access to a major urban public space and policing in central Delhi. The immediate operational questions are whether the march will remain within the permitted arrangements, how access around Connaught Place will be managed and whether the temporary park closure will affect participants and other visitors. The march is scheduled for 5 pm on Friday.
