Delhi Police Detain Cockroach Janata Party Founder Before Proposed Connaught Place March

कॉकरोच जनता पार्टी

Delhi Police detained Cockroach Janata Party founder Abhijeet Dipke at the house where he was staying in Delhi before the party’s proposed tricolour march in Connaught Place. New Delhi district police said Dipke was taken into custody because he was insisting on holding the march despite not having permission, and because of concerns related to law and order.

The police action came before the proposed gathering at Central Park in Connaught Place, where the CJP had announced a programme involving the national flag. Police have said that the march will not be allowed in Central Park and that the party will not be permitted to hold the event in the New Delhi district.

Police detain CJP founder before proposed march

A Delhi Police team reached the house in Jhandewalan where Dipke was staying and took him with them. The house belongs to Nationalist Congress Party spokesperson Anish Gawande, according to the report.

Dipke was staying at Gawande’s house during this visit to Delhi, while he had stayed elsewhere during his earlier visits to the city. The police reached the house at around 2 pm, according to the report.

New Delhi district police said the detention was linked to the proposed tricolour march and the absence of permission for it. Police also said that the decision was taken with security and law-and-order considerations in mind.

The proposed march was connected to the CJP’s call for people to gather with the national flag at Central Park in Connaught Place. The party had announced the programme for 16 October, with the gathering scheduled for 5 pm, according to Deputy Commissioner of Police Neha Yadav.

Police have made clear that the event will not be allowed at Central Park. They said that, in view of security and law-and-order concerns and the CJP’s previous conduct, permission would not be granted to the party to hold the tricolour march in the highly sensitive New Delhi district.

Section 163 order in Connaught Place

Neha Yadav said that an order under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita was in force in Connaught Place and the surrounding areas. She linked the order to the prevailing security and law-and-order situation.

Yadav appealed to people not to take part in any gathering that violated the BNSS directions or affected peace and order. She also warned that action would be taken against those who violated the restrictions.

At the same time, Yadav said that a tricolour march involving a limited number of selected protesters could be allowed at another suitable location. The police position, therefore, distinguishes between the proposed gathering at Central Park and the possibility of a restricted event elsewhere.

The New Delhi Municipal Council informed Delhi Police that Central Park would remain closed on 16 and 17 October for administrative reasons. The civic body also asked for adequate security arrangements to prevent unauthorised entry into the park.

The closure was announced in the context of the CJP’s call for people to gather at the park with the national flag. Police had already prepared security arrangements in New Delhi and nearby areas in view of the programme.

CCTV cameras and additional forces

A large number of CCTV cameras were installed in Central Park and around it to monitor the crowd and collect evidence if an untoward incident occurred. The camera deployment was part of the security preparations described ahead of the proposed programme.

Yadav said that the CJP had used social media and a press conference to appeal to people to assemble at Central Park with the national flag. The Aam Aadmi Party had also appealed to its workers, supporters and members of the public to join the protest.

Business and market associations in Connaught Place and nearby areas wrote to the police seeking security for their shops and establishments. According to Yadav, traders were concerned that the arrival of a large number of people could affect business.

The security plan included the deployment of Central Armed Police Forces. A police officer told Hindustan Times that, out of 220 CAPF companies, 30 companies would be deployed in each shift.

There would be three shifts during the day. The forces would be deployed in New Delhi, nearby districts, border areas and other important locations.

If the crowd increased at night and additional security was needed, the number of companies in a shift could be raised to 60, according to the report. The scale of the proposed deployment reflects the police assessment that the planned gathering could require security arrangements beyond the immediate park area.

CJP’s announcement after arrests at Jantar Mantar

The latest detention followed action against CJP co-conveners Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das. They had been arrested after allegedly raising the national flag and staging a protest at Jantar Mantar on 13 October.

Ranka and Das were sent to five days of judicial custody. They were accused of violating the conditions of a bond issued to maintain peace and of entering Jantar Mantar without authorisation.

The two were kept in Tihar jail, according to the report. Their detention was followed by Dipke’s appeal for a large number of people to gather at Central Park on 16 October and raise the national flag.

Dipke alleged that CJP members had been jailed for raising the national flag. He had also said that he would raise the flag at Central Park on 16 October regardless of the circumstances.

Dipke questioned whether permission was needed to hoist the Indian flag. In his words, “Is permission needed to hoist India’s flag? The tricolour belongs to the 130 crore people of this country, not only to Delhi Police.”

He added, “We will hoist the tricolour wherever we want.” The statement formed the basis of his public insistence that the CJP’s proposed programme should go ahead at Central Park.

Dipke says he is not afraid of arrest

At a press conference on 15 October, Dipke said that Delhi Police could arrest him but that he was not afraid of it. He said, “Delhi Police can arrest me tonight or tomorrow morning.”

He then addressed Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying, “But I want to tell Modi ji that we are not going to be afraid of these things.” Dipke also said that if raising the national flag in the country required going to jail, he was prepared to do that.

The remarks came as the police position on the Connaught Place gathering became clearer. Police had imposed restrictions, the park was scheduled to remain closed, and officers had warned that violations would lead to action.

Dipke also alleged that, after the CJP called for a Delhi bandh on 10 October, police had stopped buses and the Metro in Delhi, put up barricades and shut down the internet. These claims were made by Dipke and are not presented as an independent police finding in the source material.

He further alleged that Central Park was closed after he announced the plan to raise the national flag there on 16 October. The NDMC separately said that the park would be closed on 16 and 17 October for administrative reasons and asked for security to prevent unauthorised entry.

Questions over flag gatherings

Dipke questioned whether the authorities would close every location if the CJP announced flag-hoisting programmes at multiple places. “If we say tomorrow that we will hoist the tricolour at 100 places, will you close all these places?” he asked.

He also raised a comparison involving a Narendra Modi rally. “If we go to Narendra Modi’s rally carrying the tricolour, will you cancel the rally?” he asked.

Dipke continued, “What are you so frightened of?” He then asked, “Has hoisting the tricolour become a crime in India?”

The police have framed the issue around permission, restrictions and public order rather than allowing the announced Central Park gathering to proceed. Yadav’s statement said that people should not join assemblies violating the BNSS directions or affecting peace and order.

The police also left open the possibility of a tricolour march for a limited number of selected protesters at another suitable location. That possibility does not amount to permission for the CJP’s proposed gathering at Central Park, which police have said will not be allowed.

For now, the immediate development is Dipke’s detention before the proposed march and the continued restriction on the CJP’s planned event in Connaught Place. The dispute involves the party’s demand to hold a flag programme, the police order under Section 163 of the BNSS, the closure of Central Park and a security deployment covering New Delhi and surrounding areas.