NEW DELHI: All India Students’ Association (AISA) president Neha Bora was released by the Delhi Police on Saturday morning after completing formal procedures under Section 65 of the Delhi Police Act, while Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke remains in preventive custody and is set to be produced before a Special Executive Magistrate (SEM) court.
The two activists were detained on Friday evening, October 16, ahead of the CJP’s planned “Lehra Do Tiranga” protest march in central Delhi. The CJP and student groups organised the demonstration to protest Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
According to police sources, Dipke was intercepted near Jhandewalan, while Bora was detained at Mandi House as she was heading towards the demonstration site at Connaught Place. The police reportedly took both into preventive custody to avert a potential breach of peace.
While Bora was released on Saturday morning after the completion of detention formalities, the Delhi Police initiated action against Dipke under Sections 126 and 170 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). He is expected to be produced before an SEM court for further proceedings.
The detentions triggered a political and legal controversy, with both the CJP and AISA questioning the police over the activists’ whereabouts. The organisations alleged the police moved the two between multiple locations and initially denied them ied access to legal counsel.
DMK president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin also condemned the detentions, describing them as “blatantly illegal”.
The incident has intensified criticism of the Delhi Police’s handling of preventive detentions ahead of political demonstrations, with opposition leaders and student organisations raising concerns over due process and the right to protest.