CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke was detained by Delhi Police ahead of the proposed Tiranga Assembly at Connaught Place. The action followed police notices citing prohibitory orders, lack of NDMC permission and previous legal undertakings.
Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder and convener Abhijeet Dipke was detained by Delhi Police on Friday while travelling to participate in the proposed ‘Tiranga Assembly’ at Central Park in Connaught Place. The gathering had been scheduled for 5 p.m., but police authorities had earlier warned him against holding the event, citing the absence of permission and prohibitory orders in force at the venue.
According to police officials, Dipke had been served two notices earlier in the day, urging him to refrain from organising the assembly at Central Park. The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) had not granted permission for the proposed gathering, while restrictions imposed at the location prohibited the planned activity. Police also warned that legal action could follow any violation of the applicable orders.
One of the notices was issued on behalf of the New Delhi district authorities under the Delhi Police Act. It directed individuals not to visit Central Park, as prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) were in force.
A second notice was issued by the South West Delhi authorities, referring to an earlier legal undertaking involving Dipke and CJP co-conveners Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das. The three had previously been preventively detained at an airport and subsequently produced before a court. According to the notice, they had been bound down under a court directive requiring them to refrain from causing public disturbance for one year.
The latest detention came amid an ongoing debate over the party’s proposed demonstrations and its claims regarding the right to peaceful protest. Earlier on Friday, Dipke defended the planned assembly, arguing that peaceful demonstrations were a fundamental aspect of democratic participation. He accused the government of restricting citizens’ freedoms through shutdowns, internet suspensions and limitations on public movement.
In a strongly worded post on X, the CJP founder said that demanding accountability from the government, protesting against injustice and questioning elected representatives should not be treated as acts of anarchy. He maintained that the party remained committed to the principles of peace and non-violence advocated by Mahatma Gandhi.
Dipke also argued that peaceful protests were not responsible for disrupting business activities. Instead, he blamed government-imposed shutdowns, restrictions on movement and internet suspensions for creating difficulties for businesses and ordinary citizens.
“Businesses do not suffer because of peaceful protests. They suffer when the govt decides to shut down an entire city, suspend Internet services, restrict the movement of its own citizens and turn the city into a war zone,” he wrote on X.
The CJP founder further claimed that the party had organised peaceful demonstrations in several cities, including Mumbai, Pune, Jaipur, Lucknow, Bengaluru and Nagpur. He reiterated that the organisation intended to raise public concerns through non-violent means, despite what he described as attempts to provoke its members.
The proposed Tiranga Assembly at Connaught Place had become a point of contention between the party and the authorities, with police emphasising compliance with existing restrictions and the party defending its stated objective of peaceful political expression.
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The detention highlights the tension between the organisation’s stated demand for the right to demonstrate and the administration’s enforcement of prohibitory orders. While Dipke has maintained that peaceful protests are essential to democracy, police authorities have cited the lack of NDMC permission, the restrictions at Central Park and the previous legal undertaking as grounds for preventing the proposed gathering.
Further developments are expected to depend on the legal proceedings and the administration’s enforcement of restrictions surrounding public assemblies in the national capital.
