New Delhi: All India Students’ Association (AISA) president Neha Bora was released this morning (October 17), after what her lawyers have alleged were arbitrary detention, denial of access to lawyers and repeated undisclosed transfers of her custody on Friday (October 16).Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke, it is learnt, is to be produced before a Delhi court shortly. Delhi Police says Dipke was detained under Section 126/170 of the BNSS.Efforts to trace her and Dipke led to concerns late Friday amidst a sweeping police crackdown on Lehra Do Tiranga – unfurl the tricolour – in the national capital.Around midnight on Friday, AISA said that Bora had finally been tracked down at R.K. Puram police station, and that she was kept on the road – a sole female detainee – for five hours by Delhi Police in a detention van.At 6.51 am today, Bora posted on X that they had been released.I have been released!@DelhiPolice release all detained protestors!Fighting for Democracy and the Constitution cannot be criminalised!— Neha (@neha_aisa) October 17, 2026Friends, family members and associates of both the detained leaders spent a frantic night seeking information about their locations. The two were detained amid extraordinary security arrangements across central Delhi, with at least 150 others also reportedly detained.Earlier in the nightIn an urgent representation addressed to senior Delhi Police officials, advocate Supantha Sinha, counsel for Bora, had said that Bora had been detained near Mandi House Metro Station while attempting to participate in a peaceful protest. According to the representation, she was subsequently taken to the Anti-Narcotics Task Force facility at Palam.Her party and outfit, in the meantime, lauched a hunt for her through its lawyers, who drove from pillar to post trying to find her.WHERE IS AISA PRESIDENT NEHA BORA ?Parliment PS barricaded & shut!Lawyers are being denied to entry! https://t.co/LHPHfFMsem— AISA (@aisa_official_) October 16, 2026The representation from Sinha said that Bora did not have her mobile phone with her when she was detained. When her lawyers and colleagues reached the location at Palam and asked to meet her, the police refused access, it said. When the lawyers who could reach there insisted on being allowed, citing her right to legal representation, the police drove her to another location without disclosing that destination either.The letter from Bora’s advocate has also called for action against officials responsible for unlawful detentions, denial of access to lawyers and concealment of her whereabouts.Meanwhile, Ratna Singh, legal head of the CJP, also pushed for the release of both Neha and Abhijeet:Release Abhijeet and Neha!— Ratna Singh (@whattalawyer) October 16, 2026“Despite repeated requests, the officials have failed to disclose her destination or provide any information concerning her whereabouts to her lawyers,” Sinha wrote, calling for immediate intervention by the authorities.The lawyer said Bora’s continued detention, the denial of access to her legal representatives and the failure to disclose her location raised serious concerns about the protection of her fundamental rights.Parliament Street Police Station as people arrive to seek the whereabouts of Neha Bora and Abhijeet Dipke, detained before they could attend the protest in the capital against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, on October 16, 2026. Photo by arrangement.‘Illegal’ detentionsThe letter cited guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court in its October 11, 2026 ruling in Shailendra Mani Tripathi v. Govind Mohan. It urged the authorities to disclose Bora’s whereabouts immediately, allow her lawyers to consult with her and sought her “immediate release”.A contempt petition was filed by advocate Shailendra Mani Tripathi, and it says the authorities continued to close Delhi Metro stations and restrict train services despite the Supreme Court’s October 9 directions in M.A. Baby v. Union of India.The plea sought contempt proceedings against Union home secretary Govind Mohan, Delhi Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation chairperson D. Thara for allegedly wilfully disobeying the court’s October 9 directions.The petition said that the Delhi Police’s actions amounted to an “intentional attempt to bypass and undermine the authority and majesty of this Hon’ble Court”.Also read: How Allahabad HC Quashing Aakriti Chaudhary’s NSA Detention, Imposing Costs on DM is a Warning to BJP’s Yogi GovtDipke’s detention said to be ‘preventive’Further, on Friday, CJP founder Dipke was also detained outside his residence, just as he headed to the protest venue. Hours after his arrest, police had not disclosed his exact location to his family or legal team either. In a video of his being arrested, a police official is heard telling him that he is being “preventively detained”.Aap chronology samajhiye –Delhi Police ne permission dene se inkaar kiya.Delhi Police ne sab par nazar rakhi.Delhi Police ne hi Delhi police se detain karwaya, detention mein rakha aur phir judicial custody mein bhijwa diya.Aur ab release bhi Delhi Police ke through hi honi hai.Waah re Delhi Police!— Ratna Singh (@whattalawyer) October 16, 2026(The Delhi Police refused permission [to protest on Friday]. The Delhi Police kept everyone under surveillance. The Delhi Police had them detained, kept them in custody, and then sent them to judicial custody. And now, their release, too, has to happen through the Delhi Police. Bravo, Delhi Police!)A Delhi Police official with Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke, ahead of the party’s ‘Lehra Do Tiranga’ rally, at Dipke’s residence in New Delhi, October 16, 2026. Photo: PTIDipke had just the previous night alleged that he was being followed and constantly monitored by who he said were police personnel and Intelligence Bureau officials. The CJP has said that it trying to find out where he was taken by police on Friday after his detention. The outfit has also intensified its search for him, with appeals for his release arriving from across the country.We have written to the SHO of @DelhiPolice and @CPDelhi for immediate information and release of @abhijeet_dipke from his illegal detention! https://t.co/WLVyuwDU2j— Cockroach Janta Party – CJP (@Cockroachisback) October 16, 2026Delegation surrounded at Parliament Street Police StationAs concern over the whereabouts of Bora and Dipke grew, a delegation of activists, lawyers and civil society members approached Parliament Street Police Station to seek information from senior police officials.According to accounts reported by The Wire, members of the delegation alleged that police had barricaded the station and were refusing to disclose where the two detained leaders were.“They have barricaded the police station, and they are refusing to give us any details about the whereabouts of Neha and Abhijeet Dipke,” a member of the delegation said.The scene at Parliament House PS, where a team of activists, leaders, is seeking Bora, Dipke’s whereaboutsLive updates: https://t.co/TYV40G47EB https://t.co/yWw51wCZrB— The Wire (@thewire_in) October 16, 2026The same person alleged that the delegation had been surrounded by police and paramilitary personnel.The delegation included AISA activist Anjali, advocate Manik Gupta, Right to Information activist Anjali Bhardwaj and professor Jitendra Meena, among other activists and civil society members. Women police personnel were also reportedly called to deal with the delegation as tensions mounted at the police station.Crackdown ahead of ‘Lehra Do Tiranga’ protestThe detentions came as the Delhi Police mounted an extensive security operation ahead of the CJP’s call to unfurl the national flag at 5 pm at Central Park in Connaught Place as part of its “Lehra Do Tiranga” protest.The mobilisation was organised in opposition to the arrests of CJP leaders Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das, who were detained after allegedly waving the national flag at Jantar Mantar.Around 32,000 security personnel were reportedly deployed in central Delhi ahead of Friday’s protest demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and scrapping of the Special Intensive Revision carried out under his watch, which has so far removed 13 crore people from voter lists across the country.The New Delhi Municipal Council had declared Central Park closed to the public on October 16 and 17, citing “administrative reasons”. The Delhi Police also issued an appeal urging people not to respond to calls for assembly.Also read: EC Issues New ‘Worry List’ of Thousands, Mostly Muslims, Many TMC-Linked, Before Final Phase in West Bengal Poll, Seeks Preventive DetentionThe security measures followed a series of restrictions and police actions in the run-up to the protest, including the denial of permission for demonstrations, the denotification of a protest site, the closure of metro stations and the detention of youth and student leaders. Railway services were also halted at key points as part of the so-called security arrangements.CJP declares protest a success, demands Dipke’s releaseIn a statement issued after Friday’s action, the CJP described the “Lehra Do Tiranga” protest as a success, claiming that citizens had gathered in large numbers at Connaught Place despite the security restrictions and arrests.“The Cockroach Janta Party declared today’s ‘Lehra Do Tiranga’ action a resounding success as citizens turned up in large numbers at Connaught Place, holding the national flag high with pride and courage,” the outfit said.Protesters demand Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation in Delhi on October 16, 2026. Photo: PTI/Ravi Choudhary“Today’s gathering is a testimony to prove that the arrest of Cockroach Janta Party leaders won’t deter the public from coming to the streets for demanding reforms in the functioning, appointment, and conduct of the Election Commission of India,” the statement said.The outfit also said it had released video footage documenting what it described as high-handed behaviour and aggressive police tactics against young people, students and peaceful citizens carrying the national flag. It demanded the immediate disclosure of Dipke’s whereabouts, his release and comprehensive electoral reforms.This report, first published on October 17 at 12:51 am, was updated and republished on the same day at 8:51 am.