Delhi Police Detain CJP Founder During Nationwide Voter Protests

Delhi Police preventively detained Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the youth-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), and All India Students' Association (AISA) president Neha Bora on October 16, 2026. The detentions occurred ahead of a planned 'Lehra Do Tiranga' march in New Delhi's Connaught Place. Authorities deployed up to 32,000 personnel, closed Central Park, and imposed prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita to thwart the gathering. Over 150 demonstrators were detained across central Delhi, including at Mandi House and Jhandewalan.

The protests demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over allegations that a Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls deleted over 130 million names to favor the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. The Election Commission and the government denied these claims, stating deletions were legitimate. The CJP also sought solidarity for co-conveners Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das, who were jailed for allegedly trespassing at Jantar Mantar.

While New Delhi faced a security lockdown, smaller 'Lehra Do Tiranga' protests occurred in Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Patna. In Mumbai, a permitted demonstration took place at Azad Maidan, though Bengaluru police denied permission for a similar march at Town Hall. Opposition leaders, including Arvind Kejriwal and M. K. Stalin, condemned the detentions as dictatorship and illegal, while the government dismissed the protesters as pawns in a political maneuver.