Delhi Police detained CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke and activist Neha Bora on Friday as supporters attempted to organise a Tiranga march in and around Connaught Place, where authorities had imposed restrictions and deployed a large police and paramilitary presence.
According to the report by Jagran, Dipke was detained soon after leaving the residence of NCP-SCP spokesperson Anish Gawande. A police official told him that he was being placed under preventive detention and that Section 163 was in force in Connaught Place. Dipke questioned the detention and said he was not breaking the law and was travelling alone. The officer responded that he could not go to the restricted area.
The CJP had called for a ‘Lehra Do Tiranga’ protest at Central Park in Connaught Place. Police said Dipke and other CJP workers had not been granted permission for the march. Bora was detained at Mandi House, the report said.
At the same time, left organisations held a Tiranga march in the inner circle of Connaught Place. CPI(M) MP John Brittas said the group had reached the central part of the city despite the restrictions. His remarks, carried in the report, said the march had challenged the police restrictions and honoured the national flag.
Security arrangements covered Connaught Place’s outer, middle and inner circles. Police and paramilitary personnel, including women personnel, were deployed around Central Park and its gates, as well as near Palika Bazaar. Vehicles used for firing tear gas were also stationed near the inner circle, according to the report.
The policing operation affected movement through the central commercial district. Traffic congestion was reported on the outer circle, while crowds gathered outside Palika Gate No. 1 and around Palika Bazaar. The report also said that internet connectivity was intermittent in the area. Shops, parking areas and pavements were surrounded by security personnel as the authorities attempted to prevent an unauthorised procession from moving through the circular market district.
The situation was reported to be normal in areas outside the inner circle, even as demonstrators gathered inside it and began raising slogans. The report said people who entered the inner circle and started marching or raising slogans were being taken into custody. Police did not allow participants to conduct a moving procession through the area.
The episode placed Connaught Place’s role as a public commercial space and a major city gathering point at the centre of the day’s security response. The police action involved restrictions on access, preventive detention and extensive deployment across roads, pedestrian areas, shops and public park entrances. Further developments were expected as police managed the protest and movement restrictions in the area.
