Delhi Police detained Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke in Delhi on Friday, hours before his group’s proposed ‘Lehra Do Tiranga’ march at Connaught Place, after serving him a notice prohibiting him from holding the protest.
Dipke stepped out of the Karol Bagh residence of Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) spokesperson Anish Gawande at around 4.50 pm. Five minutes later, two inspectors and around a dozen police personnel stopped him as he walked towards the road. He was subsequently pushed into a police van and taken away.
Several media personnel and police officers were present outside the house. While speaking to television crews, Dipke asked the police, “I am alone. Why are you stopping me?” He then took out and unfurled the Tricolour before police personnel took him into the van.
Police sources said Dipke was taken to Jaffarpur Kalan police station, where he could be placed under preventive detention for 24 hours. The report did not specify the legal provision under which the notice was issued or whether the detention had formally been recorded under a particular provision.
Earlier on Friday, Delhi Police had issued a notice to Dipke at his residence prohibiting him from holding the march at Connaught Place. In a live video posted on the CJP’s Instagram page, Dipke was heard asking a police officer whether waving the national flag was also prohibited after he said the group had not announced a protest but only intended to unfurl the Tricolour.
The proposed march followed the arrest of two senior CJP members, Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das, who were sent to Tihar Jail after allegedly breaching security and entering Jantar Mantar on Monday while waving the national flag. Dipke had arrived in Delhi on Wednesday after those arrests.
On Thursday night, Dipke alleged that police and intelligence officials had been deployed around Gawande’s residence and that he could be detained. He also claimed that forces had been brought in from Jammu and Kashmir and that police deployment had continued around members of the group. These claims were made during a media briefing and were not independently verified in the report.
Dipke said the group intended to peacefully unfurl the flag at Connaught Place and described the act as a fundamental right. He also said CJP members were followers of Mahatma Gandhi and B R Ambedkar. The report did not include a response from Delhi Police to his allegations or details of any revised arrangements for the proposed march at Connaught Place.
The immediate police action effectively prevented Dipke from proceeding from the Karol Bagh residence towards the location of the proposed event. Further details on his legal status and the police decision regarding the march were not available in the report.
