Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke was detained from his residence in Delhi on Friday, minutes before he was scheduled to lead a ‘Lehra Do Tiranga’ rally in the national capital.

This marks the second time Dipke has been detained within a week. He was earlier detained shortly after arriving in Delhi from Mumbai to protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over allegations of voter-list manipulation during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

The proposed march was also prompted by the arrest of CJP members Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka. Both were sent to five days of judicial custody after allegedly entering Jantar Mantar with the national flag on October 13, a day after the historic site was denotified as a protest venue.

During a conversation with the police, Dipke was told, “Aap New Delhi nahi jaa sakte. Hum aapko detain kar rahe hain” (You cannot go to New Delhi. We are detaining you).

Responding to the police, he asked, “New Delhi nahi jaa sakta, kahin aur toh jaa sakta hoon. Maine kaunsa kanoon toda hai” (I cannot go to New Delhi, but I can go somewhere else. What law have I broken?).

Student leader Neha Bora, 29, was also detained near Jantar Mantar. She was among several prominent activists detained over the weekend as authorities stepped up action against protests led by the Cockroach youth movement.

Before detaining Dipke, Delhi Police visited his residence and served him a notice prohibiting the proposed march. The notice, issued under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), stated that prohibitory orders were in force in the Connaught Place area, a major commercial hub in central Delhi.

The notice further stated that the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) had not granted permission for the proposed Tiranga Yatra. It warned that proceeding with the march despite the restrictions would amount to a violation of the law.