Abhijeet Dipke arrested after Delhi Police detain 150 over 'Lehra Do Tiranga' march

Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the youth-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), was placed under preventive detention by Delhi Police on Friday, October 16, 2026, as he set out to join the 'Lehra Do Tiranga' (Wave the Tricolour) march at Connaught Place in New Delhi. Police said around 150 people were detained that day at Connaught Place, Mandi House and elsewhere to maintain law and order and keep traffic moving. Early on Saturday, October 17, police released Neha Bora, president of the student group AISA, while Dipke was arrested and was to be produced before a Special Executive Magistrate's court later in the day.

The Cockroach Janta Party is a youth movement launched by Dipke in May 2026. Its central demand is the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The group has also called for the voter list to be restored to the version of January 2025, before the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, and for the repeal of the 2023 law that governs how Election Commissioners are appointed. Dipke has argued that the revision has removed millions of voters from the rolls. The government and the ruling party say the revision is needed to clear duplicate and ineligible entries, while opposition parties accuse it of being used to favour the BJP.

The movement has grown through a series of protests. In late September, Dipke gave the Chief Election Commissioner 48 hours to resign and announced a nationwide agitation. Earlier this month, police detained its leaders when they arrived in New Delhi from Mumbai to lead a protest; most were released the same day. The 'Lehra Do Tiranga' march was framed by organisers as a peaceful gathering to wave the national flag, which is why the detentions drew sharp criticism from opposition figures. DMK chief M.K. Stalin called the detentions blatantly illegal and deeply inhumane.

Preventive detention is a power that lets police hold a person to stop an expected breach of the peace, rather than to punish an offence already committed. The use of Section 163 orders, which restrict gatherings in a defined area, and preventive sections of the BNSS against protest leaders is a recurring flashpoint between authorities and protesters in the capital. Critics say such powers are being used to stop lawful protest; police say they are needed to manage crowds and traffic in a busy commercial district.

After the organisers were detained, police allowed a smaller group of people to wave the national flag at Connaught Place. AISA said its lawyers reached RK Puram police station around midnight but were not allowed to meet Bora, and alleged that police were refusing to give her medicines. Delhi Police have not publicly responded to those allegations in the reports available.

Short-term: Dipke's appearance before the Special Executive Magistrate will decide whether he is released, bound over with conditions or held further. Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka remain in judicial custody. Further protests are likely, as the CJP's leaders have repeatedly pledged to continue.

Long-term: The dispute over the electoral roll revision and the appointment of Election Commissioners is also before the Supreme Court in separate petitions. How courts and the Election Commission respond will shape whether the street movement grows or fades, and the case will add to the debate over how preventive powers are used against protest in India.

Who is affected: CJP and AISA members and supporters, students and young voters who make up much of the movement, residents, shoppers and traders in Connaught Place, the Delhi Police, and the Election Commission, whose leadership is the target of the campaign.

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