NEW DELHI: Central Park in Connaught Place will remain closed on Friday and Saturday for administrative reasons, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) said on Thursday, news agency PTI reported.The closure comes amid heightened security in central Delhi ahead of the protest called by CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke for 5pm on Friday.Police sources said several companies of paramilitary forces had been deployed in the national capital, with personnel to be stationed at strategic locations and barricades put up to regulate movement.Dipke had urged people to gather at Central Park with the national flag to protest the arrest of CJP leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka. He also called on people in other cities to organise parallel Tiranga marches at the same time.In a video posted on X, Dipke said waving the national flag was not a crime and asserted that he would not be deterred by the possibility of his own arrest.
Security tightened ahead of protest
A senior police officer said Connaught Place is not a designated protest site. Jantar Mantar has also been denotified as a designated venue for demonstrations.Protests can instead be held at Ramlila Maidan, Burari Ground or CBD Ground after obtaining the required permission, the officer said.The proposed march follows the arrest of Das and Ranka, along with CJP activist Ajinkya Shinde, for allegedly entering Jantar Mantar without authorisation and raising slogans demanding chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation.The two leaders were subsequently sent to five days of judicial custody and lodged in Tihar Jail.The Delhi high court on Thursday declined to restrain CJP from holding the proposed protest, while recording Delhi Police’s assurance that it would take all possible steps in accordance with the law to regulate the gathering.The protest comes amid CJP’s agitation against alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.(With agency inputs)
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