NEW DELHI:
Delhi Police placed Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke under preventive arrest and released All India Students’ Association (AISA) president Neha Bora early Saturday morning after detaining both Friday. Later in the day, Dipke was granted bail after submitting a written undertaking to maintain peace and tranquillity for one year.
According to police, Bora was released after completion of the formalities under Section 65 of Delhi Police Act. Preventive action was taken against Dipke under sections 126 (security for keeping peace in other cases) and 170 (arrest to prevent commission of cognisable offences) of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita.
Bora was detained from Mandi House and taken to RK Puram police station, where she was kept overnight before being released around 5am Saturday. “She was detained before sunset and kept at the police station,” an officer said.
After her release, Bora questioned the repeated detention of protesters during the movement over alleged irregularities in Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. She alleged that people were being detained without clear reasons, kept for hours and released the next morning or evening.
“While this practice has existed for a long time, we are now witnessing it every day. Govt has crossed the boundaries of legality. Why are these detentions taking place, and how are they being used to instil fear among ordinary citizens? We witnessed this first hand today,” Bora told reporters.
On Friday night, a delegation of lawyers and civil society members reached Parliament Street police station, demanding Bora’s release, and remained there for several hours until late into the night.
Dipke, meanwhile, was detained outside a residence in Jhandewalan in central Delhi ahead of CJP’s ‘Lehra Do Tiranga’ march at Delhi’s Connaught Place Friday. Before the detention, a team of more than 10 police personnel reached the residence and asked him not to proceed with the proposed demonstration. Police cited the possibility of traffic congestion, concerns over public safety and disruption to commercial activity as reasons for opposing the march.
The latest action comes days after Dipke and fellow CJP members Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were detained in connection with the protests. The three were released on Oct 11 after furnishing surety bonds of Rs 50,000 each and undertaking to maintain peace and good behaviour for one year.