Opposition leaders Akhilesh Yadav and Pawan Khera joined lawyers and activists in demanding that Delhi Police disclose the whereabouts of CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke and AISA president Neha Bora, detained ahead of the ‘Lehra Do Tiranga’ gathering.
BY PC Bureau
New Delhi, October 16: Opposition leaders, lawyers and civil society activists intensified their demands late Friday for Delhi Police to disclose the whereabouts of Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke and All India Students’ Association (AISA) national president Neha Bora, who were detained ahead of the “Lehra Do Tiranga” gathering at Connaught Place.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Congress leader Pawan Khera joined the criticism, while student organisations and activists sought immediate access to the detainees, contact with their lawyers and families, and their release. Questions were also raised over allegations that Bora was moved in a vehicle with blacked-out windows and that police had not promptly disclosed the pair’s locations.
Dipke was detained near his Jhandewalan residence as he prepared to leave for the protest, while Bora was detained in the Mandi House area. According to reports and statements by their associates, Dipke was believed to have been taken towards Jafarpur Kalan police station. AISA alleged that Bora was initially held at an Anti-Narcotics Task Force facility in Mangolpuri before being moved in a vehicle with blacked-out windows.
Delhi Police cited prohibitory orders, including restrictions under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), along with public-order and traffic concerns, to justify its preventive action. Notices had reportedly been served on Dipke before the gathering. Around 150 people were detained across central Delhi amid the security arrangements.
The organisers described the proposed “Lehra Do Tiranga” event as a peaceful flag march. The police maintained that its action was intended to prevent potential law-and-order problems.
AISA, Lawyers Demand Answers
The detentions triggered protests and online appeals demanding information about the pair’s whereabouts. AISA alleged that Bora had been taken from Mangolpuri in a vehicle with “illegally blacked-out windows” and asked publicly where she was being taken.
The student organisation subsequently claimed that Delhi Police was refusing to meet a delegation of lawyers and civil society representatives at Parliament Street police station and was not providing the information being sought. It called for public support and invoked Article 21 of the Constitution, which protects the right to life and personal liberty.
Activist Anjali Bhardwaj said late Friday that a delegation was being prevented from entering Parliament Street police station. She also questioned the circumstances surrounding the detention of a woman at night.
Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan described the detentions as an “abduction”, alleging that the authorities had not disclosed the detainees’ locations or permitted contact. His remarks linked the police action to the protesters’ stated intention to wave the national flag.
These allegations could not be independently established from the information publicly available late Friday.
Akhilesh Yadav Seeks Neha Bora’s Release
ये बेहद गंभीर मामला है कि डिटेन की गई नेहा बोरा कहाँ हैं, इसकी कहीं कोई ख़बर नहीं है। एक नारी को रात में डिटेन करके कहाँ ले जाया गया है, पुलिस इसका ख़ुलासा करे। राष्ट्रीय महिला आयोग तत्काल इस अति संवेदनशील प्रकरण का संज्ञान ले।
नेहा बोरा को तुरंत रिहा किया जाए! https://t.co/YUECBcsxxM
— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) October 16, 2026
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav called the lack of information about Bora’s whereabouts a serious matter and demanded her immediate release.
“This is an extremely serious matter that there is no information anywhere about where detained Neha Bora is,” Yadav said in a post, questioning where she had been taken after being detained at night.
He urged the National Commission for Women to take immediate cognisance of the matter and called on the police to disclose her whereabouts.
READ: Mamata, Kejriwal, Stalin Condemn Dipke, Neha Detention; Rahul Gandhi Remain Silent
Pawan Khera Accuses Delhi Police of High-Handedness
अमित शाह की दिल्ली पुलिस गुंडा राज स्थापित कर रही है। रात के अँधेरे में चोरों, लुटेरों और डकैतों की तरह काम करना इनकी आदत बन गई है।
अंकिता भंडारी के लिए न्याय माँगने पर हमें रात के अँधेरे में ग़ैरक़ानूनी तरीके से हिरासत में लिया गया था।
अब नेहा बोरा और उनके साथियों को भी इतनी रात तक हिरासत में रखा गया है और उनके ठिकाने तक की स्पष्ट जानकारी नहीं दी जा रही है।
यह पूरी तरह ग़ैरक़ानूनी है और इस बात को और स्पष्ट करता है कि हम आख़िर क्यों इस सरकार को सत्ता से हटाना चाहते हैं।
नेहा बोरा और उनके साथियों को तुरंत रिहा किया जाना चाहिए।
दिल्ली पुलिस याद रखे – उसकी निष्ठा संविधान और क़ानून के प्रति होनी चाहिए। मोदी और शाह तो अब कुछ ही दिनों के मेहमान हैं।
सत्ता स्थायी नहीं है, लेकिन संविधान सर्वोपरि है।
— Pawan Khera 🇮🇳 ಪವನ್ ಖೇರಾ (@Pawankhera) October 16, 2026
Congress leader Pawan Khera also attacked the police action, accusing the force operating under Union Home Minister Amit Shah of behaving like “thugs” and alleging that people were being detained under cover of darkness without adequate information being provided.
Referring to earlier detentions linked to protests demanding justice in the Ankita Bhandari case, Khera said Bora and others had been held late at night under circumstances he described as illegal. He demanded their immediate release and reminded the police of their constitutional obligations.
“Power is not permanent, but the Constitution is supreme,” he said.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin also demanded the release of Dipke and Bora, describing the alleged failure to disclose their whereabouts as “blatantly illegal” and deeply inhumane.
Detentions Amid Anti-SIR Protests
It is 10:40 pm at night. Delhi Police Parliament Street Thana is not letting a delegation enter the police station. We are asking where are @neha_aisa and @abhijeet_dipke ? How can they detain a woman beyond sunset? If she is arrested they must disclose the details. https://t.co/4YQwyfmsh6
— Anjali Bhardwaj (@AnjaliB_) October 16, 2026
The “Lehra Do Tiranga” gathering had been called amid protests demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Dipke and Bora have been prominent participants in the mobilisation. Their detention ahead of the proposed gathering added to tensions over the restrictions imposed on protests in central Delhi.
As of late Friday, families, lawyers and associates were continuing to seek confirmed information about the detainees’ locations and access to them. No publicly available police statement had immediately addressed the specific allegations concerning the blacked-out vehicle windows or the alleged delay in disclosing their whereabouts.
The episode has renewed questions about the use of preventive detention during demonstrations and the need for prompt, transparent communication with families and legal representatives when people are taken into custody.
