Abhijeet Dipke, founder and convener of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), received conditional bail from a Delhi court on Saturday. His arrest stemmed from the party's planned 'Lehra Do Tiranga' rally at Central Park in the national capital's Connaught Place.
The Special Executive Magistrate court granted Dipke's release after he executed a 'peace bond.' This legal undertaking mirrors a similar bond signed by Dipke and CJP leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka following their detention ahead of an earlier protest on October 10. Ratna Singh, CJP's Legal Affairs Head, confirmed Dipke's release, posting simply, "Abhijeet Dipke released," on social media platform X.
Dipke's detention and subsequent arrest occurred on Friday while he was en route to join the proposed rally in Connaught Place. The CJP had called for a 'Tiranga Assembly' at Central Park for 5 p.m. that day, an event for which the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) had explicitly denied permission. Concurrently, All India Students' Association (AISA) President Neha Bora was also detained near Mandi House amid heightened police security across central Delhi, though she was released shortly thereafter.
Prior to Friday's planned demonstration, Delhi Police had served Dipke two distinct notices. One notice, issued by New Delhi district authorities under the Delhi Police Act, informed him that Connaught Place was not a designated protest site and that the NDMC had withheld permission for the 'Tiranga Yatra.' It also stated that Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) was in effect, prohibiting individuals from visiting Central Park. A second notice from South West Delhi authorities reminded Dipke, along with co-conveners Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das, that they were previously 'bound down' following preventive detention at the airport and a subsequent court appearance. This legal directive mandated them to refrain from causing any public disturbance for a period of one year.
Earlier on Saturday, Singh had criticized delays in the court proceedings. "The hearing was supposed to happen at 12 p.m. It's 3:38 p.m. and no sign of it. If this isn't deliberate then what is? Release Saurav Das, Ashutosh Ranka and Abhijeet Dipke along with other detainees. You can't take away people's liberty by delaying the entire process," she had posted on X, reflecting growing frustration over the situation.
Image: mangalorean.com
📰 Source: Mangalorean News