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All India Students’ Association (AISA) president Neha Bora, who was released on October 17 morning after overnight detention, accused Delhi Police of denying them timely access to a lawyer. Neha uses they/them pronouns.
Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke, detained ahead of a planned protest, remains in custody and was due to appear before a magistrate.
Neha was detained on October 16 evening while on their way to the ‘Lehra Do Tiranga’ protest march at Connaught Place. Delhi Police said they were released after completing formalities under section 65 of the Delhi Police Act. Abhijeet was placed under preventive arrest under sections 126 and 170 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) with police citing apprehension of a breach of peace.
Questioning their overnight detention after their release, Neha asked under what authority protesters could be held in custody through the night. “Legally, individuals, especially women, ought to be released after sunset, yet this is not happening,” they said.
Bora alleged that police collected their personal details but did not allow them to consult a lawyer for several hours. “Our lawyers spent 5–6 hours trying to reach me. It was only after we managed to call them that they were finally allowed to meet me,” they said.
They accused the authorities of using prolonged detention to intimidate protesters and said such incidents had become routine during the ongoing movement against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
“Law and order are being flouted in every possible way. Ordinary citizens are treated as if they were hardened criminals, a practice that has persisted in this country for a long time,” they said.
Neha also criticised roadblocks and restrictions in central Delhi, questioning the authorities’ claims that protesters were creating chaos. They demanded the release of Abhijeet and other detained demonstrators, and called for the withdrawal of the SIR and the impeachment of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
“I wasn't even aware he had been detained,” they said of Abhijeet. “All other protesters who have been illegally detained should also be released immediately. These are ordinary citizens who are simply demanding accountability and the right to vote.”
CJP legal head Ratna Singh said on October 17 that Abhijeet had been arrested and would be produced before a Special Executive Magistrate. She alleged that his whereabouts remained unknown and that lawyers had not been allowed to meet him.
The ‘Lehra Do Tiranga’ march was announced by the CJP to demand Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation over alleged irregularities in the SIR and to express solidarity with CJP co-convenors Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das who were arrested earlier in the week after a protest at Jantar Mantar.
The detentions came amid protests by opposition parties, student groups and civil society organisations against the SIR, which they say risks disenfranchising eligible voters. On October 16, student organisations also held a march towards Connaught Place, led by CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MPs John Brittas and V Sivadasan.
