Where is Dipke, asks CJP; lawyers meet Neha at RK Puram police station

Where is Dipke, asks CJP; lawyers meet Neha at RK Puram police station

New Delhi, The Cockroach Janta Party on Friday said the whereabouts of its founder Abhijeet Dipke remained unknown after his detention by Delhi Police, while the All India Students' Association said its president Neha Bora had been traced to the RK Puram police station following hours of uncertainty over her location.

AISA said Bora had been shifted from location to another across Delhi for five hours before its lawyers were able to meet her at RK Puram police station around midnight. It alleged that police had not clarified when she would be released and were refusing to provide her medicines despite knowing she has been unwell for the past few days.

"Why is Delhi Police holding Neha until midnight in a police station? When will Neha be released? Why is a women student leader being put in a police station at midnight?" AISA said in a post on X.

The CJP has alleged that Dipke had been taken to an undisclosed location and it had lost contact with him, while AISA had earlier said Bora was initially taken to an Anti-Narcotics Task Force, South-West District, facility before being shifted elsewhere.

"The Delhi Police has taken Abhijeet Dipke to an undisclosed location. We have lost contact with him. He is not being allowed to talk to lawyers," the CJP said in a post on X.

"Why does this government treat youth like terrorists? We are equal citizens of India and we deserve all the protections and rights of the Constitution!" it said.

"Abhijeet was just walking out of his home with a Tiranga in his hand! How can walking with a tiranga be a crime?" the CJP asked, adding that detentions would not deter people from joining the protests.

The CJP also wrote to Delhi Police inquiring about Dipke's whereabouts.

In a letter addressed to Mandir Marg station house officer, CJP leader Rohan Deshpande said, "Since his detention, we have received no information regarding his present location or the police station or facility where he is being held. This lack of information is deeply concerning."

He urged Delhi Police to immediately confirm Dipke's present whereabouts, the legal provisions invoked and the grounds communicated for his preventive detention.

He asked police to disclose under whose directions Dipke had been detained and the details of the officer responsible for his custody, adding that Delhi Police must ensure he is permitted to contact his colleagues and obtain access to legal counsel.

Former AISA president and CPI Liberation leader N Sai Balaji had earlier questioned the police over Bora's detention and the reported change in her location.

"Delhi Police please answer why Neha was detained alone by plain clothed men in a bus? Her last location shows she was taken to Anti-Narcotics Cell, Mangalapuri. Then why is the PS saying she is not there," Balaji said.

"Is Delhi Police trying to kidnap her and arrest her," he questioned.

Balaji later alleged that police were moving Bora again after concerns were raised about her whereabouts, asking why she could not be released.

AISA also alleged that two people in plain clothes accompanying Bora in a van were not detainees, and questioned whether she was safe.

In a post on X, AISA had said Delhi Police refused to meet a delegation of lawyers and civil society members seeking her release. It called on people to gather in large numbers at Parliament Street police station to demand the release of the detained protesters.

"It's 10 pm. The whereabouts of AISA's All India president Neha remains unknown," AISA had said.

It said a delegation comprising AISA activist Anjali, advocate Manik Gupta, RTI activist Anjali Bhardwaj, Professor Jitendra Meena and other activists and civil society members was reaching Parliament Street police station to meet senior police officials.

CPI Liberation, in a statement issued Friday night, said Bora was initially taken to an Anti-Narcotics Task Force, South-West District, facility and was later shifted to another location. It said a legal team had been deployed to follow up on her detention.

The party said Dipke had also been detained outside his place of stay ahead of the Tiranga march and his whereabouts remained unknown. It demanded the immediate release of Bora, Dipke and all other detained protesters.

CPI Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas said an AISA representative informed him that Bora was picked up by Delhi Police at Mandi House while on her way to join the 'Lehra Do Tiranga' protest.

"Taken away alone, without her phone, her whereabouts are now unknown," Brittas said in a post on X.