Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke has called for a gathering with the national flag at Central Park in Connaught Place on October 16, two days after party co-convenors Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were sent to five-day judicial custody over alleged violations during a protest near Jantar Mantar.
Mr. Dipke made the appeal on X on October 14, asking supporters to assemble at 5 p.m. and urging those who cannot travel to Delhi to organise “tiranga marches” in their own cities. He said the gathering would demonstrate that waving the national flag was not a crime and expressed apprehension that he could also be arrested.
The call followed the detention of CJP members during an anti-Chief Election Commissioner protest. The group had held the tricolour and raised slogans against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar before police personnel took them away on October 13, according to the report.
Das and Ranka were sent to judicial custody after the police report was considered along with the apprehension that they could repeat the alleged violations or encourage others to do so if released, the police said. They were lodged in Tihar Jail.
The police have registered two first information reports against 14 CJP members on allegations including trespass, disobedience of official orders and obstruction of police personnel on duty. The proceedings relate to the group’s presence at Jantar Mantar, which has been de-notified as a protest area.
The CJP said its members had “reclaimed” Jantar Mantar and their right to protest. The organisation’s office bearers also claimed that their release after an earlier detention was subject to a condition that they would not engage in activity breaching peace and tranquillity for a year. The report did not include an independent copy of that condition.
Ajinkya Shinde, who was also placed under preventive arrest, was released after furnishing a personal bond and surety of ₹5,000. According to a police statement, he gave an undertaking to maintain peace and good behaviour for six months.
The latest call comes after Mr. Dipke and other CJP members were detained at Indira Gandhi International Airport on October 10, the day the organisation had called for its anti-CEC protest at Jantar Mantar. They were released nearly 24 hours later on October 11. Mr. Dipke returned to Delhi on October 14 after travelling to his village following the death of his grandmother.
The proposed gathering at Central Park will place attention on how authorities manage demonstrations in one of Delhi’s busiest commercial districts, while the police cases and judicial custody proceedings continue. The CJP has asked supporters to assemble with the national flag at 5 p.m. on October 16.
