The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on Friday said the whereabouts of its founder Abhijeet Dipke remained unknown after his detention by Delhi Police, while the All India Students' Association (AISA) said its president Neha Bora had been traced to the RK Puram police station following hours of uncertainty over her location.
AISA said Bora had been shifted from location to another across Delhi for five hours before its lawyers were able to meet her at RK Puram police station around midnight. It alleged that police had not clarified when she would be released and were refusing to provide her medicines despite knowing she has been unwell for the past few days.
The CJP has alleged that Dipke had been taken to an undisclosed location and it had lost contact with him, while AISA had earlier said Bora was initially taken to an Anti-Narcotics Task Force, South-West District, facility before being shifted elsewhere.
"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.
"Why does this government treat youth like terrorists? We are equal citizens of India and we deserve all the protections and rights of the Constitution!" it said.
"Abhijeet was just walking out of his home with a Tiranga in his hand! How can walking with a tiranga be a crime?" the CJP asked, adding that detentions would not deter people from joining the protests.
The CJP also wrote to Delhi Police inquiring the whereabouts of Dipke.
In a letter addressed to Mandir Marg station house officer, CJP leader Rohan Deshpande said, "Since his detention, we have received no information regarding his present location or the police station or facility where he is being held. This lack of information is deeply concerning."
He urged the Delhi Police to immediately confirm Dipke's present whereabouts, confirm legal provisions invoked and the grounds communicated for his preventive detention.
He asked police to disclose under whose directions he had been detained and the details of the officer responsible for his custody, adding that Delhi Police must ensure he is permitted to contact his colleagues and obtain access to legal counsel.
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.
Former AISA president and CPI(ML) Liberation leader N Sai Balaji had earlier questioned the police over Bora's detention and the reported change in her location.
"Delhi Police please answer why Neha was detained alone by plain clothed men in a bus? Her last location shows she was taken to Anti-Narcotics Cell, Mangalapuri. Then why is the PS (police station) saying she is not there," Balaji said.
"Is Delhi Police trying to kidnap her and arrest her," he questioned.
Balaji later alleged that police were moving Bora again after concerns were raised about her whereabouts, asking why she could not be released.
CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas said an AISA representative informed him that Bora was picked up by Delhi Police at Mandi House while on her way to join the 'Lehra Do Tiranga' protest.
"Taken away alone, without her phone, her whereabouts are now unknown," Brittas said in a post on X.
"Detention cannot become disappearance. Delhi Police must disclose where Neha is, ensure her access to her family, friends and comrades. Moreover, police should explain the grounds for her detention," he said.
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)
