Delhi Police personnel visited the Jhandewalan residence of Abhijeet Dipke — the founder of the Cockroach Janta Party — on Friday, arriving several hours before the organisation was scheduled to carry out its planned 'Lehra Do Tiranga' march through central Delhi. No official statement has been issued by police on whether Dipke was taken into custody or placed under a movement restriction, and the purpose of the visit has not been formally established.
Footage broadcast live through the CJP's stream showed approximately twelve officers — including a number of women in uniform — arriving at the West Delhi residence. Dipke sat with the national flag draped over his shoulders during the interaction, while a police officer occupied a chair nearby throughout the exchange.
The episode forms part of an ongoing series of confrontations between the CJP and Delhi Police, set against the party's sustained campaign against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over what it describes as irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. The evening before police arrived, Dipke had circulated a message urging supporters to gather at Central Park in Connaught Place by 5 pm on Friday, national flags in hand.
Connaught Place serves as one of Delhi's busiest retail and business districts, drawing traders, shoppers, and office workers into its distinctive circular layout. Delhi Police had drawn up plans to seal access points around Central Park before the proposed march could begin, while vehicles and pedestrians were to retain access through both the inner and outer ring roads of the area.
Officers travelled to Dipke's residence to deliver an oral notice that prohibitory restrictions under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) remain active across the New Delhi district. The officers also pressed Dipke to call off the march and keep the situation peaceful and orderly. During the broadcast, Dipke put a question to an officer on duty, asking on what grounds displaying the national flag could be treated as a violation of the law.
The planned demonstration followed the detention of two CJP members, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, earlier in the week. According to reports, the pair crossed a police security barrier into Jantar Mantar — a location no longer designated as an approved venue for demonstrations — and raised the national flag there. A five-day judicial custody order was handed down against them on Wednesday.
Dipke, who had travelled from Mumbai to Delhi the previous Thursday, told reporters that he had anticipated being detained before the march. Speaking at a late-night press briefing, he said unmarked vehicles had been following him and that Intelligence Bureau officers had been stationed outside his residence. He added that hoisting the national flag was a position he was prepared to defend, and that any police decision to treat the act as a violation would not deter him from accepting arrest as a consequence.
The developments unfolded against the backdrop of sustained friction between the CJP and Delhi Police over protests directed at CEC Gyanesh Kumar. Questions over whether the march would proceed remained open, as authorities had imposed limits on the planned procession and officers had pressed Dipke to abandon it.
