The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and the All India Students' Association (AISA) on Friday questioned the whereabouts of their leaders Abhijeet Dipke and Neha Bora, alleging that they were being denied access to lawyers and associates after being detained by Delhi Police during protests in the national capital.
The CJP alleged that its founder, Dipke, had been taken to an undisclosed location and that the party had lost contact with him. AISA, meanwhile, claimed that its president, Bora, was initially held alone at the Anti-Narcotics Task Force in Mangolpuri before being moved to an undisclosed location.
“The Delhi Police has taken Abhijeet Dipke to an undisclosed location. We have lost contact with him. He is not being allowed to talk to lawyers,” the CJP said in a post on X, demanding that the police disclose his whereabouts.
Questioning the detention, the party said Dipke had been on his way from his residence to Connaught Place with the national flag when he was detained. It asserted that carrying the Tricolour could not be treated as a crime and demanded that his constitutional rights be protected.
AISA also raised concerns over Bora's detention, alleging that she was picked up at Mandi House by men in plain clothes and taken to the Anti-Narcotics Task Force in Mangolpuri.
In a subsequent post on X, the student organisation claimed that Bora was being moved from the Mangolpuri facility to an undisclosed location in a car with blacked-out windows.
“Delhi Police, please answer why was Neha detained alone by plain-clothed men in a bus? Her last location shows that she was taken to Anti-Narcotics Cell, Mangolpuri. Then why is the PS saying that she is not there?” former AISA president N Sai Balaji said.
He questioned whether the police were attempting to kidnap and arrest her. In an earlier statement, AISA had also sought clarification on the presence of two men in civilian clothes in the vehicle in which Bora was allegedly detained, asking whether they were police personnel and whether she was safe.
Police sources said Dipke was detained in Jhandewalan while on his way to Connaught Place, while Bora was detained at Mandi House.
Delhi Police said around 150 people had been detained as part of measures to maintain law and order and ensure smooth traffic movement amid the protests.
Security personnel cordoned off Central Park in Connaught Place, with Rapid Action Force personnel deployed inside the park and additional forces stationed in the surrounding area.
(With inputs from PTI)