Delhi Protest Gets Bloody: CJP Activist Accuses Police of Brutality and Lathi‑Charge

On a humid Monday morning in Delhi, members of the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) gathered at Connaught Place and nearby Parliament Street to voice their grievances. What was meant to be a peaceful rally quickly turned chaotic, according to one of the organisers, activist Abhijeet Dipke.

Dipke, speaking to ANI on Tuesday, recounted that police suddenly opened fire with lathis, striking demonstrators and, he claimed, even pulling the hair of a woman identified only as Geetanjali ma'am. “They staged a lathi‑charge in the morning. Their hearts are filled with blood,” he muttered, his tone a mixture of anger and disappointment.

He added that, while he was momentarily out of the crowd, officers continued to assault Geetanjali, trying to baton‑charge him as well. “A male officer grabbed her hair. I wasn’t there, but they tried their best to intimidate us,” Dipke said, pausing as if replaying the scene in his mind.

The activist also questioned the police’s logistical arrangements, asking whether more barricades were being erected and if the senior deputy commissioner was even aware of the unfolding violence. “Is the DCP talking to anyone? Are they putting up another barricade?” he asked, his voice rising.

Beyond the immediate clash, Dipke painted a broader picture of dissent in India, suggesting that the current episode was just one manifestation of a “brutality” that has seeped into many protests across the country. “They are breaking the heads of 12‑year‑old children. They are killing more than 20 children. The government should be ashamed,” he exclaimed, his words spilling over with frustration.

He also took aim at the government’s response, arguing that the state’s actions were indistinguishable from the very brutality it claimed to condemn. “This is not the government. This is brutality. Stop calling it the government,” he insisted.

In the meantime, Delhi Police filed several FIRs against unidentified individuals, accusing them of stone‑pelting, vandalising police vehicles and snatching equipment such as helmets and jackets. Police sources said the complaints were lodged at both the Parliament Street and Connaught Place police stations under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

Video footage released by the police showed a group of youths hurling stones from behind a police barricade near Regal Cinema. The authorities appealed for calm, urging protesters to “exercise restraint” and cooperate in maintaining public order.

Separately, CJP’s national spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka described a recent meeting with Union Minister JP Nadda as “a waste of time.” Ranka claimed he sat with the minister for five hours without receiving any substantive response. He further alleged that some CJP members were placed under house arrest at the minister’s residence and that their mobile phones were confiscated.

All in all, the day left a bitter taste for both sides. While activists like Dipke decry what they see as state‑sponsored aggression, the police maintain they are simply enforcing law and order amid alleged vandalism and stone‑pelting. The story, as it stands, remains very much in flux, with investigations ongoing on both fronts.