The Delhi Tiranga protest faced a major police clampdown on Friday as CJP leader Abhijeet Dipke was detained, Central Park in Connaught Place remained closed and security forces restricted access to the announced protest venue. The action followed a call for a march by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), with several student and political groups joining demonstrations in central Delhi.
The protest was scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. at Central Park. However, the New Delhi Municipal Council had ordered the park’s closure for two days, citing “administrative reasons”. Police subsequently placed barricades at entry points and parked vehicles around the area to prevent access. A Section 163 order was also imposed in the area, according to The Hindu’s report.
Mr. Dipke was detained shortly before the scheduled start of the march outside the house where he was staying in Jhandewalan, Karol Bagh. The police had earlier served him a notice asking him to refrain from any action that could obstruct the rights of other citizens.
Before his detention, Mr. Dipke questioned the police action, saying that the organisers had asked participants to remain in small groups, take a photograph with the national flag and leave peacefully. The CJP and the All India Students’ Association separately alleged that Mr. Dipke and AISA chief Neha Bora had been taken to undisclosed locations and were out of contact. They demanded the immediate release of the activists.
Ms. Bora was detained along with other activists by women police personnel at Mandi House, near Connaught Place. The Students’ Federation of India, the All India Students’ Federation, the Krantikari Yuva Sangathan and other groups, including independent protesters, participated in marches held in different parts of central Delhi. Left MPs John Brittas of the CPI(M) and P. Sandosh Kumar of the CPI also attended one of the marches.
A senior New Delhi police official told The Hindu that around 80 protesters had been detained across the marches on Friday evening. The Delhi Police had not issued an official statement on the detentions by 9.30 p.m., according to the report. Earlier coverage of the protest had said that 6,000 police personnel were being deployed, while Central Park was being closed for crowd-control measures.
The protest followed the remand of CJP co-conveners Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka to five days of judicial custody on October 14. They were allegedly remanded after entering the Jantar Mantar area. The CJP subsequently announced the Tiranga protest in Delhi, while solidarity demonstrations were also reported in Mumbai.
The police action and the protest triggered a political exchange between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress-led INDIA bloc. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh alleged at a press conference in Lucknow that the developments represented an attempt to create disorder through democratic processes. Congress communications in-charge Jairam Ramesh responded on X by citing former President Pranab Mukherjee’s description of the Opposition’s role as to “oppose, expose and depose”.
The restrictions placed around Connaught Place affected access to one of central Delhi’s principal public and commercial spaces during the planned demonstration. The next steps include the police response on the detentions and the status of access to Central Park after the two-day closure period.
