Delhi Police Detain CJP Founder During Nationwide Flag Protests

Delhi Police preventively detained Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), and All India Students’ Association president Neha Bora on October 16, 2026. The detentions were part of a larger operation involving 32,000 personnel to block a planned 'Lehra Do Tiranga' march at Connaught Place in New Delhi. Authorities closed Central Park for administrative reasons and imposed prohibitory orders to prevent gatherings.

The CJP is demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, alleging that a Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls deleted over 130 million names to favor the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Dipke characterized the 'One Nation, One Election' slogan as a mask for 'One Nation, One Party, One Leader.' The BJP and the Election Commission denied these claims, stating deletions were legitimate.

While New Delhi saw heavy security and over 150 detentions, the CJP held a peaceful protest at Azad Maidan in Mumbai. In Bengaluru, police denied permission for a similar march, citing court directives. The unrest follows the judicial remand of CJP leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka for allegedly trespassing at Jantar Mantar.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee condemned the detentions as an 'undeclared Emergency' by a 'fascist regime.' Conversely, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh dismissed the protests as a political maneuver by the opposition, claiming youth were being used as 'pawns in the politics of anarchy.'