Ahead of a planned "Lehra Do Tiranga" procession by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on Friday, 16th October — a gathering that authorities had not authorised — a deployment of around 25,000 police and paramilitary personnel was spread across New Delhi and neighbouring areas, with surveillance cameras set up at Central Park in Connaught Place and at Rajiv Chowk Metro Station. Restrictions under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) were brought into force across the affected area.

Police took Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka — both affiliated with CJP — into custody after the two attempted to enter Jantar Mantar, a venue that authorities had removed from the list of approved protest sites, and that act of detention set off the subsequent disorder. A rally was held by the group at Central Park. Neha Bora, who holds the national presidency of both the Aam Aadmi Party and the All India Students Association (AISA), was among those whose attendance at the event was noted in reports.

A public advisory from Delhi Police urged residents to stay away from Central Park. A notice from the New Delhi Municipal Council advised that the zone would be off-limits to visitors on both Friday and Saturday, citing administrative grounds.

A gathering of senior Delhi Police figures — among them the Joint Commissioner and the District Commissioner for New Delhi — was convened by Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar in advance of the event. A police official indicated that shutting down Metro stations remained an option of last resort, based on information carried by a broadcast news outlet.

Movement restrictions were put in place across Connaught Place and the surrounding neighbourhoods, with DCP (PRO) Neha Yadav's Thursday-night media statement citing the preservation of order, the safeguarding of lives, and the protection of both public and private property as the grounds for the action. Authorisation for the gathering had not been given, the statement indicated, though officers would assist an allotted group wishing to raise the flag and sing the national anthem at an appropriate venue.

By Friday, a deployment of roughly 25,000 personnel across New Delhi had been arranged, with an additional 5,000 brought in to cover the march. A row of buses used for detaining people was positioned along the road outside Palika Bazaar.

Roughly sixteen units took up posts along the stretch running from Tolstoy Road through to Sansad Marg that Thursday, while a deployment of 220 Central Armed Police Forces companies had been set aside to cover the New Delhi district. According to the statement released, 30 of the 220 participating companies would be assigned to operate during each individual shift. Across the course of the day, operations would run on three separate shifts. Personnel were to be stationed across New Delhi, its surrounding districts, border zones, and other designated locations.

The officer added that attendance at Central Park was projected to reach between 30,000 and 50,000 people, and that surveillance equipment had been installed to address gaps in camera coverage at the venue, while deployment could be raised to 60 companies per shift if crowd numbers overnight warranted additional personnel. Ten CCTV cameras positioned at and near Rajiv Chowk and Central Park were described by authorities as a documentation measure, intended to capture footage of the gathering and preserve a record should any rule breaches or incidents occur. A spokesperson for the force indicated that enforcement measures would be pursued against those found to be in violation.

Plans for the march route and timing were being drawn up by those at the top of the command structure. Personnel from neighbouring districts were being brought in to bolster the deployment, given that Connaught Place spans too large an area to be managed through barriers alone. The area in question sits outside any prescribed boundary. Officers noted that numerous access points exist across the venue, making comprehensive coverage a logistical challenge without placing undue strain on public movement — though barricades remained an option under consideration, with no road closures put in place.

Trade associations representing Connaught Place merchants formally petitioned authorities for protective measures against potential disorder and unauthorised gatherings during the festive period, a request that found its way into the published police statement. Vendors in the area voiced concerns about the financial pressure from the CJP protests, with at least one pointing out that trade had only just begun to recover from disruptions tied to the July unrest over the NEET examination paper leak when the fresh wave of instability arrived.

A shop owner noted that four trading days had already been lost during the opening weeks of the festive period, adding that while the right to demonstrate belongs to protesters, businesses equally depend on the freedom to operate and earn a living. Speaking to those gathered in protest, the New Delhi Traders Association leader drew a distinction between the drive for change scheduled for the following day and the day-to-day income concerns of vendors already operating — arguing that neither could be dismissed at the expense of the other.

Local commerce in the area contracted to around a tenth of its usual volume during the period when protests over the NEET examination paper leak, led by the CJP, played out in July — with the speaker adding that the sector supports the livelihoods of roughly 25,000 workers.

Abhijeet Dipke, who founded the CJP, announced a Tiranga Yatra for Wednesday in response to the detention of co-convenors Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, each placed under five days of judicial custody following their arrests — an event that came amid a dispute over protest access at Central Park. The detentions at Jantar Mantar came just two days after an executive magistrate had freed the CJP leaders under a one-year bond requiring them to keep the peace and conduct themselves without incident.

The detentions came on 10 October after the group arranged a street demonstration — held without the authorisation of any public body — during which participants called on Gyanesh Kumar, who holds the post of Chief Election Commissioner, to vacate his position over disputed claims about the reliability of voter rolls.