CJP youth leader detained ahead of Delhi protest as police curb unrest
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Police arrested Cockroach Janta Party youth leader Abhijeet Dipke before a planned flag-raising demonstration in Delhi, while thousands of supporters still gathered despite the detention.
Police detained Abhijeet Dipke, the leader of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) youth movement, on Friday as authorities acted to prevent a planned evening demonstration in central Delhi. Dipke had called supporters to gather and hold up the Indian flag, but was arrested after refusing a police notice to cancel the protest. In videos of the arrest, he was seen raising the flag and stating, "I have not broken any law right now … how can you detain me?"
The protest was organized after two other CJP leaders, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, were sentenced to five days in jail for jumping police barricades and briefly waving the flag at a restricted site. Despite Dipke's detention, around 2,000 protesters assembled at Connaught Place and displayed flags, turning the area into a scene of provocation and public disorder.
"If waving the Indian national flag lands you in jail, we are ready," Dipke said at a press conference on Thursday, condemning what he described as "repressive" attempts to silence the movement.
Student leader Neha Bora was also detained as she began a march in the capital. Smaller demonstrations were reported in Mumbai, Bengaluru and Patna.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Sambit Patra accused the CJP and opposition groups of seeking to create "anarchy" and suggested they intended to stage a coup.
In Mumbai, actor Imran Khan, who holds a U.S. passport, received a notice to leave the country after being detained while attending a protest; he is challenging the order in court.