Delhi Police detained around 150 people during competing tricolour marches and protests in and around Connaught Place on October 16, with Central Park closed, heavy security deployed and traffic affected in the inner circle, according to a report by Live Hindustan citing police sources and statements from organisers.
The reported detentions followed a planned march by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) at Central Park. CJP organiser Abhijit Dipke was detained after leaving a residence on Panchkuian Road, while Neha Bora, president of the All India Students’ Association (AISA), was also taken into custody during a separate protest linked to demands for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation.
Live Hindustan reported that Delhi Police had issued two notices to Dipke on the same day. One notice cited Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and directed him not to enter Central Park. The other, issued by South-West Delhi Police, referred to an earlier detention involving Dipke, CJP co-convener Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das. According to the report, the notice mentioned a court direction requiring the three leaders not to participate for one year in activities that could disturb peace and communal harmony.
Police closed Central Park and deployed personnel from the police and paramilitary forces around Connaught Place. Protesters were told to leave the area, while officers also cleared people near Rajiv Chowk Metro station and worked to reopen roads. The report said the outer circle had largely returned to normal, although the inner circle experienced congestion during the demonstrations.
The detentions took place as multiple political and student groups gathered in central Delhi. Workers associated with SFI, DYFI, AISF and AIYF reportedly joined a tricolour march, while AISA and Left-party supporters assembled near Mandi House. The Aam Aadmi Party also announced a march, with Delhi unit president Saurabh Bhardwaj saying participants had brought hundreds of national flags and would march through central Delhi.
According to the report, some protesters attempted to stop a police bus as detainees were being taken away. Smaller groups later marched around the inner circle, while supporters and opponents gathered near Palika Bazaar. The demonstrations also drew counter-protests from some shopkeepers outside Central Park. Traders were reported to have objected to holding the march during the festive season and had approached the court over the issue.
CJP’s official X account claimed that Dipke had been taken to an unknown location and was not being allowed to speak to lawyers. A post associated with Bora’s account made a similar claim about her location and access to her phone. These claims were not independently confirmed in the supplied report.
Political leaders, including Mamata Banerjee, M.K. Stalin and Arvind Kejriwal, criticised the detentions and demanded the release of Dipke and Bora. Their comments were political reactions to the police action and were not accompanied in the report by a separate police response to the allegations about access to lawyers or the detainees’ locations.
The reported operation placed Connaught Place’s public spaces, retail activity, pedestrian movement and road traffic under simultaneous pressure. Police continued asking remaining protesters to vacate the area, while traffic management teams worked to restore movement around the inner and outer circles.
