Delhi Metro access has been restored across the network after security restrictions linked to a proposed Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) protest, while Delhi Police released about 4,000 detained supporters but continued to hold four party leaders, according to a report by Jagran – New Delhi.
The police have retained CJP leaders Abhijit Dipke, Ashutosh Ranka, Saurabh Das and Dhruv Rathi in custody. Police sources cited in the report said legal procedure would be followed in their cases. All other people detained from different locations in connection with the proposed demonstration have been released.
According to the report, police had offered to release Dipke and allow him to travel to Maharashtra after informing him about his grandmother’s death. He later declined to leave, the report said. The police are continuing to process the cases involving the CJP leaders under the applicable procedure.
The security measures had affected Delhi’s public transport network. Entry and exit gates at 45 Delhi Metro stations were closed in view of the proposed protest and the related law-and-order arrangements. The restrictions caused inconvenience to passengers using the affected stations, including those who needed to change lines during their journeys.
Delhi Metro has now reopened the entry and exit gates at all stations, and interchange facilities at the relevant stations have also been restored. The reopening allows passengers to access the full network and change trains at stations where services had been restricted during the security operation.
The Delhi government’s excise department had separately ordered retail liquor shops in the capital to remain closed on October 9 and 10. The decision was taken on the basis of inputs from Delhi Police and was intended to support the maintenance of law and order during the protest-related security arrangements.
The closure applied to government and private retail liquor shops covered by the relevant licence categories. Licensed restaurants, bars and clubs were not included in the restriction, according to the report. Retail liquor shops are scheduled to reopen on Sunday, October 11, after the notified closure period ends.
The developments mark a relaxation of the restrictions imposed on public movement and commercial activity around the proposed demonstration. Police have released the general detainees and restored access throughout the metro network, while the CJP leaders remain in custody pending further action under the legal process.
