Delhi Court Orders Release of Cockroach Janta Party Founder Abhijeet Dipke Following Preventive Arrest

NEW DELHI — A Delhi court on Saturday ordered the release of Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke under preventive arrest, a day after he was detained during demonstrations in central Delhi.

Dipke was released from the Mandir Marg police station following the bail order passed by a special executive magistrate. While exact conditions will be detailed once the official order is made public, authorities confirmed that maintaining peace for one year is stipulated.

Prior to his release, the Cockroach Janta Party had stated that Dipke’s whereabouts remained unknown and that legal counsel had not been permitted to meet him. Dipke was initially intercepted and detained on Friday while heading toward Connaught Place for the campaign’s “Lehra Do Tiranga” demonstration, which involved plans to wave the national flag.

The flag-waving campaign was organised in response to the police arrests earlier in the week of fellow campaign leaders Ashutosh Ranka, Saurav Das, and Ajinkya Shinde. Ranka and Das were subsequently remanded to five days of judicial custody by a special executive magistrate court, whereas Shinde was released on a personal bond. The three men had been taken into custody after entering Jantar Mantar to protest the authorities’ decision to strip the area of its status as a designated protest site.

Before Friday’s detention, Delhi Police served a notice to Dipke instructing him to call off the Connaught Place demonstration. Authorities cited heavy pedestrian and vehicular traffic, warning that a gathering could obstruct emergency access. Police also noted that prohibitory orders banning assemblies of four or more individuals remained in effect across central Delhi, warning that violations would attract charges of disobedience.

The police notice further alleged that the political campaign had previously breached conditions attached to protest permissions, resulting in public order disruptions. That allegation appeared to reference demonstrations held in July concerning alleged irregularities in competitive examinations.

The ongoing detentions occurred amid a broader wave of protests in the national capital led by the political campaign, opposition parties, and student groups. Demonstrators have been demanding the resignation of Kumar over concerns regarding the Election Commission’s functioning and its management of the special intensive revision of electoral rolls. Protests targeting the poll panel have unfolded in New Delhi and other regions nationwide since October 2.

The current unrest follows an investigative report published on September 23, which detailed that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally raised objections 14 times over a 10-month period against poll panel decisions regarding the special intensive revision, asserting some actions were taken without their knowledge.

Student leader Neha Bora, who had been detained alongside Dipke in connection with separate central Delhi demonstrations, was released earlier on Saturday at 5 am.