Neha Bora and Abhijeet Dipke Detained Before the ‘Lehra Do Tiranga’ March at Connaught Place, Where 300 Marchers Including Children Defied Prohibitory Orders and About 150 Were Detained

Delhi Police detained Neha Bora, president of the All India Students’ Association, and Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the Cockroach Janta Party, before the “Lehra Do Tiranga” march at Connaught Place on Friday, October 16, 2026, according to ThePrint and Scroll. More than 300 people of all ages, including children as young as seven, gathered from about 5:30 p.m. despite prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and Delhi Police said it detained around 150 people to maintain law and order. Bora was detained at Mandi House and released early on Saturday, and was then served a notice by a special executive magistrate to execute a Rs 10,000 personal bond to maintain peace. Dipke was arrested under the Sanhita’s breach-of-peace provisions and was to be produced before the magistrate.

The case that the march was a legitimate civic protest rests on who took part and how it was conducted. ThePrint reported that the marchers included families, among them Dilip Katheria, 55, from Dwarka, who came with his wife and seven-year-old son and said: “It is important to teach children how to ask questions, seek accountability.” The participants chanted “Vande Mataram” and carried the national flag, and the march was called “Lehra Do Tiranga,” which presents it as a patriotic act. Bora, who disputes the allegations, argues in her petition to the Delhi High Court that the notice lacks material to show a likely breach of peace and that the proceedings violate her fundamental rights to freedom of speech, assembly and personal liberty. The protests demanding the resignation of the Chief Election Commissioner have been held since October 2.

The case that the police acted within their powers is also on record. Prohibitory orders under Section 163 were in force, gatherings were not permitted, Central Park was closed on Friday and Saturday and the shops at Connaught Place stayed shut, according to ThePrint, so the march was held in defiance of a lawful order. Bora was detained under Section 65 of the Delhi Police Act and Dipke under sections 126 and 170 of the Sanhita for breach of peace, and a separate case had been registered against Dipke on October 10 when he was detained at the airport. The notice served on Bora under sections 126 and 130, read with 135(3), asks for a bond of Rs 10,000 with surety, which is a preventive measure rather than a punishment, and the police said both were taken into preventive custody before the march.

The events matter for the right to protest in the capital because they involve a student leader, a movement that has organised demonstrations over the electoral rolls, and the use of prohibitory orders, bonds and detentions. The Delhi High Court is closed for the Dussehra vacation and reopens on October 26, so Bora’s lawyers may seek an urgent hearing before then. For the protest movement, the numbers on October 16, more than 300 marchers and about 150 detained, show both its reach and how closely it is being policed, and the outcome of the court case will say where the limits lie.

A peaceful march of families met prohibitory orders and detentions. The Delhi High Court’s response to Bora’s petition will show how far preventive powers can be used against protesters.

Image: Connaught Place, New Delhi (file photo). Photo by Marcin Białek, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.