Dipke Calls for Flag Gathering After CJP Leaders Remanded

Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke called for a national-flag gathering in New Delhi on October 16, after party leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were remanded to five days of judicial custody over a protest-site incident. Dipke also urged supporters outside the capital to organise marches in their cities. The gathering is scheduled for 5 p.m. at Central Park in Connaught Place. Permission had not been confirmed as of Wednesday evening, according to one report. The sources do not establish whether the planned event later took place. Das and Ranka were produced before a Special Executive Magistrate on Wednesday, October 14. Their associate Ajinkya Shinde was released on a personal bond and bound to maintain peace and good behaviour for six months. Police said the group had entered Jantar Mantar without authorisation, obstructed officers and violated peace bonds. The incident occurred on Tuesday, October 13, when CJP members entered the Jantar Mantar premises, a site that had been denotified as an authorised protest venue on October 12. Police said the group crossed security barricades and raised slogans against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.