NEW DELHI: Delhi Police on Friday detained Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke a few hours before the group’s proposed “Lehra Do Tiranga” demonstration at the Connaught Place commercial complex in the national capital.
The CJP has been staging protests across the country, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process. The group has already held demonstrations in Mumbai, Pune, Jaipur, Lucknow, Bengaluru and Nagpur.
It had called for a peaceful protest with the national flag at Central Park in Connaught Place at 5 pm on Friday. Ahead of the rally, more than 20 police personnel reached Dipke’s residence and served notices stating that no protests would be allowed in the Connaught Place area.
Police said prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) were in force, barring large gatherings in and around Connaught Place, and that permission for the march had therefore been denied.
Heavy security deployment
To prevent any law-and-order problems, around 6,000 police personnel and 220 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) were deployed across the capital. Police proposed an alternative venue where the protesters could hoist the national flag, but the situation remained tense.