Whereabouts of Abhijit Dipke and Neha Bora unknown, Lawyers not allowed to enter the PS
New Delhi, late night of October 16 – Serious concern is being raised over the whereabouts of AISA president Neha Bora and Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijit Dipke after Delhi Police detained them on Friday ahead of the proposed Lehra Do Tiranga march at Connaught Place.
Dipke was picked up from his residence in Jhandewalan after more than 20 police personnel served him a notice not to proceed towards Central Park, which had been barricaded and closed for two days, while Bora was detained near Mandi House while she was marching with the national flag.
Police sources initially said Dipke was taken to Jafarpur Kalan police station on the outskirts of the capital and that the detentions were preventive to maintain law and order, with over 150 protesters detained and heavy deployment of Rapid Action Force, tear gas and Vajra vehicles around Central Park, but by evening both CJP and AISA alleged that the two leaders had been moved to undisclosed locations and that their legal counsel was being denied access.
CJP posted on X that it had lost contact with Dipke and that he was not being allowed to talk to lawyers, asking how walking with a Tiranga could be treated as a crime, while AISA claimed Bora was first held alone at the Anti-Narcotics Task Force office in Mangolpuri and then shifted in a vehicle with blackened windows to an unknown location, accompanied by two men in plain clothes.
The matter took a more serious turn late at night when a group of lawyers, mediapersons and civil society members reached the Parliament Street police station, where Delhi Police Commissioner had earlier reviewed security arrangements, pleading with police to allow them inside with lawyers to ascertain the whereabouts of Bora and Dipke, but they were not allowed to enter and the police refused to meet the delegation.
AISA and CJP workers put out urgent calls on social media saying where is Neha and asking supporters to gather at Parliament Street, describing the detention of a woman activist at night without disclosing her location as extremely grave and demanding that the National Commission for Women take immediate cognisance of the sensitive matter and that the police disclose where she has been taken.
The detentions have drawn sharp reaction from opposition leaders, with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee terming it an undeclared emergency, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin calling the non-disclosure of whereabouts blatantly illegal and deeply inhumane, and other leaders questioning the secrecy till late night, even as Delhi Police maintained that the situation was peaceful and that its main objective was to ensure smooth traffic movement and public order ahead of the protest called to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and to protest the judicial custody of CJP leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka.
