Abhijeet Dipke, who leads the CJP and was carrying a national flag, was placed under preventive custody by authorities shortly after he left a residence in the Jhandewalan area of central Delhi on Friday. The detention formed the backdrop to a planned 'tiranga yatra' at Connaught Place, scheduled by the party for 5pm — marking his second apprehension within the month, the first having occurred at Indira Gandhi International Airport on 10 October, when he had travelled to Delhi to take part in a demonstration against the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

Footage captured at roughly 4:30 in the afternoon showed Dipke stepping out of the building and moving toward a nearby road, at which point members of the press gathered around him. When officers moved to stop him, Dipke questioned what rule he had broken.

Dipke told the officer she was on her own, to which the officer pointed out that a substantial number of people stood behind her, prompting Dipke to ask where exactly those people were. A second officer informed him that preventive measures were being applied to him personally, after which he was placed in a police vehicle and taken to a location that was not disclosed. As of the final update that evening, he had not yet been released.

Prior to the detention, a contingent of over ten officers arrived at the residence and conveyed to Dipke that staging the planned demonstration at Connaught Place would not be advisable, citing potential disruptions to traffic flow, public order, and nearby commercial operations. A video recording captured Dipke stating that the CJP had not announced any intention to hold a protest. A pledge to display the national flag had been made by those involved.

Whether that activity falls within what is permitted remained an open question. When someone in the crowd called out asking whether the national flag was illegal, an officer on the scene replied that the Tricolour stood as a symbol of the country's honour.

A formal notice sent to Dipke cited his online posts and public statements urging people to gather at Connaught Place, on the grounds that no prior authorisation had been obtained for the assembly. Two petitions filed before the Delhi High Court prompted the formal notice to be sent out.

According to officers, the area functions as a trade zone where the number of access routes in and out remains notably restricted. When gatherings concentrate in one zone, foot traffic across the remaining areas can back up, complicating both movement away from the space and access to exit routes.

The notice pointed out that the area accommodates a wide range of shops, eateries, hotels, banking facilities, and office spaces, and that any disruption during evening hours or the peak festive period stood to harm the income of traders and staff — with upwards of 15 lakh people across the trading community relying on the uninterrupted, orderly operation of the area to sustain their day-to-day livelihoods.

Rajiv Chowk Metro station — a transfer point connecting the Blue and Yellow lines that handles around two lakh passengers on a typical day — was among the locations the notice flagged as potentially disrupted by the assembly. Gatherings of that scale bring with them the prospect of overcrowding and the attendant risk of crowd crush, and any spillover onto main arterial routes through central Delhi stands to affect the broader flow of traffic.

Police pointed to Connaught Place's location near Parliament, the Central Secretariat, and several diplomatic enclaves, arguing that any assembly held without permission in the area posed a potential threat to security arrangements there. The notice also outlined concerns that constricted service lanes running alongside ageing structures could leave emergency vehicles — ambulances and fire tenders alike — with too little room to pass.

Police issued a notice stating that prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita remained active, with non-compliance liable to attract provisions under Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita alongside other relevant statutes. Under the Delhi Police Act, 1978, the notice barred gatherings, marches, and public assemblies near Connaught Place, while also restricting the presence of items capable of serving as weapons and banning amplification equipment.

Dipke was instructed to safeguard the interests of traders, commuters, patients, and the broader public from any adverse impact. According to the notice, gatherings at Connaught Place fell outside the list of approved protest locations, with any demonstrations required to take place at officially designated spots and subject to advance authorisation.

In bringing up past CJP demonstrations, officers asserted that those taking part had not adhered to the terms set out in the permissions they had been granted. Those organising the gatherings pointed to prior instances where similar calls to march on Parliament had been followed by outbreaks of unrest and harm to both publicly and privately owned property.

A notice tied to an alleged bond violation was also handed to Dipke, according to people familiar with the matter. Three individuals — Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka of CJP, along with Dipke — walked free on 11 October after each deposited a surety bond of Rs 50,000 and gave undertakings to keep the peace and conduct themselves properly over the following twelve months, according to police.