Published Oct 16, 2026 | 8:24 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 16, 2026 | 9:02 PM
Neha Bora's detention came hours after CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke was detained by the Delhi Police ahead of the 'Lehra Do Tiranga' march.
Synopsis: Police detained AISA’s Neha Bora and CJP’s Abhijeet Dipke and did not allow them to hold the planned Lehra Do Tiranga march at Central Park in Connaught Place. Police picked up Bora from Mandi House, while they detained Dipke in Jhandewalan. Meanwhile, left student unions claimed they reached Connaught Place. AISA said police were holding Bora alone at Manglapuri.
The Delhi Police detained AISA national president Neha Bora and several other student activists, including leaders and workers of Left organisations and the Fraternity Movement, during a protest march near the Mandi House on Friday, October 16.
Bora’s detention came hours after Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke was detained by the Delhi Police ahead of the ‘Lehra Do Tiranga‘ march announced by the party.
In a post on X, AISA said Bora has been detained and taken to an undisclosed location on a separate bus.
“AISA President Neha (@neha_aisa) has been detained by @DelhiPolice from Mandi House. They have been taken away alone, and their whereabouts remain unknown. Other AISA activists have also been detained in a separate bus,” the post read.
In a later post, AISA said from Bora’s X account that the Anti-Narcotic Squad has detained her alone at Manglapuri.
“Neha is detained alone at Anti-Narcotic Task Force, Manglapuri! It is 8 PM and there is no communication with Neha! Release Neha now!” the post demanded.
A few minutes later, AISA said Bora was taken away in a car with “blackened windows”, and she was not allowed to meet her lawyers.
“Where is Neha?
Why have they been rushed away in a car with blackened windows without being allowed to meet their lawyers?
End the illegal abduction of Neha!
Release Neha now!” it said in the post.
Fraternity Movement general secretary Lubaib Basheer and Delhi University student Haifa Shafeeq were among the other activists detained at Mandi House. Speaking to South First, Haifa alleged she was beaten up by the women police personnel while being transported in the police vehicle.
Meanwhile, a “Tiranga March” of the Left student organisations, including SFI, DYFI, AISF and AIYF, led by CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MPs John Brittas and V Sivadasan, reached Connaught Place, defying Delhi Police attempts to stop them.
Speaking to reporters, Brittas said, “They have said nobody will be permitted to reach CP. We have reached here. We have reached Central Park. We have defied the Delhi police; we have defied their ban. We have upheld the Tricolour. Let them do what they can do…”
A ‘Tiranga March‘ was also held in Bengaluru amid tight police security. The CJP, along with Jagruta Karnataka, AISA Karnataka and ‘My Vote, My Right’, organised the march amid restrictions by the Bengaluru police.
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In a statement, the CJP said its national convener, Abhijeet Dipke, was detained outside the residence of NCP(SP) spokesperson Anish Gawande while he “was walking entirely alone.”
The CJP said Dipke was detained despite the party’s appeals to the public to avoid mass gatherings and march in small groups.
“Yet, law enforcement chose to block the entire area and detain Dipke as he walked completely alone, showing that under this administration, even the quietest, most peaceful embrace of the national flag is treated as an offence,” the party said.
It condemned the police action and 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.
The CJP announced the ‘Lehra Do Tiranga‘ march on 14 October 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.
The march was also announced in solidarity with CJP leaders Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das, who were arrested earlier this week for waving the national flag at Jantar Mantar after the central government de-notified it as a designated protest site.
(Edited by Fayisa CA)
