In an escalating crackdown ahead of planned demonstrations in the capital, Delhi Police placed Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke under preventive arrest on October 16. In the same operation, All India Students’ Association (AISA) president Neha Bora was detained on Friday evening before being released following the completion of administrative procedures under Section 65 of the Delhi Police Act.
Police authorities confirmed that preventive action against Dipke was executed under Sections 126 and 170 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), citing apprehensions over potential breaches of public peace. According to law enforcement officials, Dipke had previously been served two formal notices prohibiting him from visiting Central Park in Connaught Place, which he allegedly disregarded. Furthermore, police intend to inform the Special Executive Magistrate (SEM) that Dipke breached the terms of an earlier peace bond—amounting to ₹50,000—which required him to maintain public tranquility for one year.
Dipke’s detention triggered sharp condemnation from the CJP, which alleged that its founder had been moved to an undisclosed facility and denied access to legal counsel. In a statement shared on X, the party questioned how walking out of one’s home carrying the national flag could constitute an offense and accused the administration of targeting youth leaders. CJP representative Rohan Deshpande formally petitioned the Mandir Marg police station, demanding full transparency regarding Dipke’s whereabouts, the specific legal provisions invoked, and immediate access to legal representation.
Concurrently, AISA raised concerns over the detention of its president, Neha Bora, alleging she was shuttled between multiple facilities across Delhi for nearly five hours before being located at the RK Puram police station. The student body claimed that legal representatives were initially barred from meeting her around midnight and that access to essential medication was delayed, questioning the prolonged late-night detention of a female student representative.
The latest preventive actions occur against the backdrop of sustained protests targeting the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) over alleged voter list discrepancies. Earlier in the week, fellow CJP leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were remanded to Tihar Jail for five days after scaling the perimeter gate at Jantar Mantar, which the Delhi Police recently denotified as an official protest venue.
