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A Delhi court has ordered the conditional release of Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) founder Abhijit Deepke, a day after his arrest, on a bond of 50,000 rupees and an undertaking to maintain peace.
The order was issued on Saturday, October 17, following a hearing before a magistrate. Deepke walked out of Delhi’s Mandir Marg police station after the proceedings, Indian news outlet NDTV reported.
He was detained over plans to organise a ‘Tiranga March’, or national flag rally, at Connaught Place as part of ongoing protests against alleged electoral fraud.
In his first reaction after release, Deepke shared a still from the 2004 Bollywood film Veer-Zaara on social media platform X. The scene shows Shah Rukh Khan’s character breaking down in tears after being released from a Pakistani prison after 22 years.
“Feels like walking out of jail after 24 hours without Wi-Fi and a phone,” he wrote in the caption.
Deepke and Neha Bora, president of the All India Students’ Association (AISA), were detained on Friday. Delhi Police said Bora was released early Saturday, while Deepke was produced before a special executive magistrate.
CJP leaders Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das remain in judicial custody over allegations of unauthorised entry into Jantar Mantar, which was removed from the list of designated protest sites last week.
Police said Deepke and Bora had been taken into preventive custody ahead of the planned ‘Lehra Do Tiranga’ march and flag-hoisting programme at Connaught Place on Friday evening. Despite the detentions, students and others marched in small groups carrying national flags.
Police said Bora was released after formalities under the Delhi Police Act. Deepke, however, was formally arrested under Sections 126 and 170 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita on allegations related to breach of peace.
