Delhi Police detained around 150 people during a Tiranga March linked to the Cockroach Janta Party in and around Connaught Place on October 16, while Central Park was closed, heavy security was deployed and traffic was affected in the inner circle. Police also detained CJP convener Abhijit Dipke and All India Students’ Association president Neha Bora before or during the demonstrations.
According to a Live Hindustan report citing Delhi Police sources and news agency ANI, the detentions took place as groups gathered near Central Park and other parts of central Delhi. Police asked protesters to leave the area, moved some detainees into buses and worked to reopen traffic routes. The report said traffic on the outer circle had remained largely normal, while congestion affected the inner circle.
Dipke was detained after leaving the residence of an NCP spokesperson on Panchkuian Road, according to the report. Police had issued him two notices on the same day. One notice, issued under the Delhi Police Act, referred to Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and directed him not to enter Central Park. A second notice from the South-West Delhi Police referred to an earlier October 10 detention involving Dipke, CJP co-convener Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das.
The second notice cited a court direction that the three individuals should not participate for one year in activities that could disturb public order and communal harmony, the report said. The supplied report did not include the text of the court order or details of the specific legal proceedings beyond the police reference.
The Central Park area was placed under heavy security, with police and paramilitary personnel deployed around the site. The park was closed, and groups carrying the national flag gathered on roads and near the inner circle. Police also removed people from outside Rajiv Chowk Metro station, according to the report. The movement of protesters briefly affected traffic during the evening period, when office commuters were leaving central Delhi.
The demonstrations were not limited to CJP supporters. Workers and members associated with SFI, DYFI, AISF and AIYF also gathered in Connaught Place. CPI(M) parliamentarian John Brittas said the groups had reached the area despite restrictions. Separately, AISA and Left-party workers protesting near Mandi House over a demand for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation were also detained, according to the report.
The detentions drew reactions from political leaders and public figures. Tamil Nadu politician M.K. Stalin called for the release of Dipke and Bora and said peaceful protests should not be stopped. West Bengal politician Mamata Banerjee described Dipke’s detention as an “undeclared Emergency”. Aam Aadmi Party national convenor Arvind Kejriwal criticised the action, while Delhi AAP president Saurabh Bhardwaj said his party had begun its own Tiranga March in central Delhi.
The CJP’s official X account claimed that Dipke had been taken to an unknown location and was unable to contact lawyers. A post on Bora’s X account made a similar claim about her location and access to her phone. These claims were reported in the supplied material but were not independently confirmed in it.
By the later stage of the reported protest, Connaught Place’s traffic had largely been restored and the police were clearing remaining groups from the area. The report did not state whether the detained people had been formally arrested, released or produced before a court.
