Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), remained in preventive custody as of Saturday and was set to appear before a Special Executive Magistrate (SEM), following his detention by Delhi Police the previous day in connection with the party's planned 'Lehra Do Tiranga' demonstration in the capital. Neha Bora, national president of the All India Students' Association, had been taken into custody alongside others but was released in the early hours of Saturday.

Upon her release, Bora stated that the rights of those who had taken part in the protests had been violated by the authorities, and that officers had prevented her from reaching her legal representatives for a number of hours. She also renewed calls for the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar from office and for a suspension of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.

Bora was released after the procedural steps tied to her detention under Section 65 of the Delhi Police Act were completed, police said. Charges under Sections 126 and 170 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) were registered against Dipke, leading to his detention, according to police sources. Around 150 demonstrators detained during Friday's protests in central Delhi included the two individuals, police confirmed.

In an interview aired after her release, Bora raised objections to the conduct of police toward protesters and questioned whether there was any lawful basis for detaining people through the night, stating that legal and civic order had been violated at every turn. She contended that those taken into custody during the day or into the evening were held until the next morning or beyond — treatment she compared to that reserved for convicted offenders rather than members of the public.

Bora also told reporters that officers did not initially permit her to speak with legal counsel and that they pressed her for her name, home address, and further personal particulars. She told a broadcast outlet that access to legal representation had been withheld from her throughout that period, along with any opportunity to address those holding her. Her account holds that legal representatives spent between five and six hours attempting to gain access to her before any meeting was permitted.

Bora attributed the traffic disruption that spread across central Delhi to decisions made by authorities, citing road closures and security arrangements as the underlying factors. She also pressed authorities to suspend the SIR exercise, framing that step as a safeguard for voters' rights — a position tied to her broader push for Gyanesh Kumar's removal from office.

Two formal notices from Delhi Police reached Dipke before the planned gathering, each instructing him to stay away from Central Park in Connaught Place on the day of the proposed demonstration. The first notice drew its legal basis under Section 163 of the BNSS — a provision allowing authorities to act in situations of urgent nuisance or apprehended danger. Police stated that movement controls were already active across Connaught Place and that the New Delhi Municipal Council had not issued authorisation for the planned procession.

The second notification was based on a prior commitment to keeping the peace. Authorities contended that Dipke had breached the terms of an undertaking binding him to keep the peace for twelve months, backed by a bond of Rs 50,000. Police records indicated that Dipke had previously been held along with party members Ashutosh and Saurav as part of a separate preventive measure.

Officials conveyed to Dipke that raising the national flag on its own carried no legal prohibition, though gathering or marching without authorisation in a designated restricted zone could draw enforcement measures. Curbs on rallies, processions, and public demonstrations under the Delhi Police Act were also cited within those notices.

Authorities pointed to Connaught Place's role as a high-traffic commercial hub, its constrained road network with few access points, and the potential for gridlock that could hamper emergency vehicle movement. Passenger volumes at Rajiv Chowk Metro Station, combined with the surrounding area's proximity to government and diplomatic offices, were among the factors the notice drew attention to.

Security arrangements across central Delhi were tightened in the days leading up to the planned 'Lehra Do Tiranga' gathering scheduled for Friday. A traffic advisory from police warned of likely road disruptions near Connaught Place from 3 pm onward. The detention of Dipke drew objections from a number of Opposition figures, among them Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, Aam Aadmi Party national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav.

Banerjee characterised the situation as an "undeclared emergency," adding that young people faced detention for taking part in what she regarded as the exercise of their democratic rights. Her post on X took aim at the arrest of Dipke over plans for a public demonstration centred on the national flag. Kejriwal also took to X to voice opposition to the police action, describing it in his post as an instance of outright authoritarian rule. Questions have arisen over whether displaying the national flag constitutes any form of legal offence.

Yadav wrote that the day represented a clash between what he called "Ekaranga" and "Tiranga," while AAP's Delhi unit chief Saurabh Bharadwaj separately raised questions about the number of security personnel deployed and the temporary shutting of Central Park — remarks that came alongside the party's broader response to Abhijeet's arrest. In an interview with a television news outlet, Bharadwaj drew a parallel between the curbs placed on the planned event and the colonial-era effort to fly the Indian national flag under British administration.

Prior to his detention, Dipke had voiced support for the planned rally and pushed back against allegations that the party's activities posed any threat to public order. In an X post, the CJP founder put forward the position that disruptions to trade and travel arose from government-imposed restrictions on movement rather than from peaceful assembly itself, and that non-violent protest does not, by its nature, harm commercial activity. In a written statement, he contended that residents bear the consequences whenever authorities opt to shut down an entire city, cut off internet access, place limits on where people may travel, and transform urban areas into conflict zones.

Protests were held across a number of cities — among them Mumbai, Pune, Jaipur, Lucknow, Bengaluru, and Nagpur — with Dipke asserting on behalf of the party that each gathering had proceeded without incident. The party's stated preference, he added, was to act within constitutional channels rather than turn to violence.

The rally put forward by the CJP formed one element of its broader push to hold the Election Commission accountable over the SIR exercise. Demonstrators aligned with AAP, AISA, and associated Left organisations gathered at various points across the capital that Friday — with a contingent assembling near Mandi House — to call on the electoral body for greater openness and accountability in its processes.