New Delhi: The Cockroach Janta Party's planned Tiranga Rally in Delhi on October 16 was successfully halted after founder Abhijeet Dipke was taken into preventive custody by Delhi Police near Connaught Place. With co-conveners Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka already in judicial custody, the outfit faced a leadership vacuum as several protesters, including Left student leader Neha Bora, were also detained. Unlike earlier demonstrations, Delhi Police avoided sweeping citywide transport curbs and focused their restrictions directly around Central Park. Meanwhile, a parallel protest at Mumbai's Azad Maidan witnessed a sparse turnout of fewer than 40 participants.
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke was detained for the second time in a week and produced before a magistrate court, with proceedings conducted under heavy security outside the Mandir Marg police station in New Delhi. Dipke was apprehended ahead of the planned Tiranga rally as police cited concerns over potential disruption of law and order. Delhi Police sought judicial custody from the special executive magistrate to prevent any further breach of peace in the national capital. Amid the detention of key leadership, CJP named Ajinkya as their second-in-command to coordinate ongoing activities. Meanwhile, demonstrations by left-leaning student groups continued near Jantar Mantar and the Delhi Police headquarters, though law enforcement reported substantially fewer participants on the ground. Authorities maintained that while the right to protest is acknowledged, preventive measures and detentions remain necessary to ensure public safety and prevent incidents of arson.
Abhijeet Dipke was produced before an Executive Magistrate at the Mandir Marg police station following his preventive detention. Outside the premises, a confrontation erupted between a team of lawyers seeking entry to represent him and security personnel, including the Rapid Action Force and Central Reserve Police Force, who had barricaded the main gate. The Delhi Police maintained that required legal representatives, including the legal head of the party, were already inside for the hearing. Authorities justified the action under the Delhi Police Act and Section 163, citing calls for an unauthorised protest at Central Park, which had been closed by the New Delhi Municipal Council. Police submitted viral videos alongside notices signed by Dipke, arguing that he breached terms to maintain peace and should be remanded to judicial custody.
Simultaneously, left-wing organisations, including RWPI and KYS, staged demonstrations along Raisina Road in Delhi demanding the removal of the Chief Election Commissioner over the Special Intensive Revision process. The agitation continued despite the denotification of Jantar Mantar as an official protest venue. Security arrangements were heavily tightened across central Delhi, with Delhi Police and paramilitary forces setting up intense barricades and anti-riot deployments to stop demonstrators from advancing. Several protesters were detained and moved to detention centres in waiting buses as tensions continued to flare near both Raisina Road and the Mandir Marg police station.