Published Oct 17, 2026 | 7:03 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 17, 2026 | 7:04 PM
Abhijeet Dipke, founding president of the Cockroach Janata Party.
Cockroach Janta Party founder (CJP) Abhijeet Dipke was granted bail by a Special Executive Magistrate court on Saturday, October 17, a day after he was detained ahead of the CJP’s ‘Lehra Do Tiranga‘ march in Delhi.
The Special Executive Magistrate court at Mandir Marg released Dipke on conditional bail, with one of the primary demands being to ensure there is no “breach of peace” on his part for a period of one year.
Following his release, Dipke shared a meme on X, describing his 24 hours in detention.
“How it feels walking out of jail after 24 hours with no wifi and phone,” Dipke wrote alongside a picture of actor Shah Rukh Khan’s character from the movie Veer Zara.
How it feels walking out of jail after 24 hours with no wifi and phone https://t.co/QrnvYmiMJc
— Abhijeet Dipke (@abhijeet_dipke) October 17, 2026
In a separate post, Dipke wrote, “Now just waiting for my brothers to be free…”, sharing a picture of CJP leaders Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das. Ranka and Das are lodged in the Tihar jail after being arrested earlier this week for waving the national flag at Jantar Mantar after the central government de-notified it as a designated protest site.
Now just waiting for my brothers to be free… https://t.co/EKzaJXppYd
— Abhijeet Dipke (@abhijeet_dipke) October 17, 2026
Dipke was detained on October 16, outside the residence of NCP(SP) spokesperson Anish Gawande, ahead of the CJP’s ‘Lehra Do Tiranga’ march at Connaught Place. The march was announced in solidarity with Ranka and Das and also as part of the ongoing protests demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over large-scale voter deletions and other irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Condemning Dipke’s detention, the CJP, in a statement, questioned whether holding the Tiranga was a crime.
“Is waving the Tiranga a crime in this country? Even when we officially asked our people to stay in small groups, take a simple picture with our Tiranga, and leave in peace, you still won’t let us breathe. If holding our own national flag in our own capital is treated as a crime, then put me in jail. If loving the Tiranga is a violation of your laws, then you have treated basic patriotism as a crime in this country,” the statement read.
Hours after Dipke’s detention, AISA national president Neha Bora was also detained by the Delhi police at Mandir Marg, while she was marching towards Connaught Place with other activists. Her whereabouts were kept unknown by the police, and she was released only in the early hours of Saturday.
The police also detained several other activists, including students and members of the Fraternity Movement, who alleged that women protesters were kept in the police station after 6 pm, assaulted and denied food and medical care.
(Edited by Fayisa CA)
Also Read: ‘Lehra Do Tiranga’ march: Dipke detained in Delhi, AISA says Neha Bora held alone in police custody
