Abhijeet Dipke gets conditional bail; SC forms panel to probe July violence

Congress Anta Party founder Abhishek Tiwari has been granted conditional bail by a special executive magistrate court in Delhi with a peace bond directing him to maintain peace for one year. The Delhi police stated that the bail was granted upon a surety bond of rupees 50,000. His release comes a day after his preventive detention ahead of the CJP's Lehra Do Tiranga protest march at the iconic Connaught Place market in the national capital. But in a major development, the Supreme Court constituted a high-powered probe panel to look into all allegations of violence during protests at Jantar Mantar and even places outside Delhi during the CJP-led protests against the NEET paper leak in July. The panel will focus on alleged use of pellet guns, targeted violence and harassment of female protesters, and excessive violence and destruction of property on either side. Meanwhile, leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi condemned the alleged brutality of the Delhi police. In a social media post on X, Gandhi released a video where he is speaking to some of the women protesters who allegedly faced and witnessed the brutality. As this unfolded, the woman journalist Richa Parasar, who alleged that Rahul Gandhi shoved her while she was covering the India Block march towards the Supreme Court, filed a criminal complaint with the DCP, New Delhi District, seeking immediate registration of an FIR against Gandhi. Meanwhile, on another front, in Mumbai, after Imran Khan filed a petition in Bombay High Court, which sought to quash the Leave India Notice issued by the Foreigners Regional Registration Officer, ordering him to leave by October 28, after he participated in the anti-CC protest. Earlier, protests also took place outside the Delhi Police headquarters, where several left-leaning and student organizations protested against the action taken by the police during the recent demonstrations. Their concerns include alleged assaults on protesters, overnight detentions and access to legal counsel. Delhi police has registered at least 10 FIRs linked to alleged assaults on demonstrators and the crackdown debate also extends to CJP co-conveners Farhad Das and Ashutosh Ranka who were sent to five days of judicial custody after their detention over an attempt to enter Jantar Mantar, a site previously denotified for protests. Abhijit Deepke, after being released, also posted on social media a photo of the duo with a caption, quote, now just waiting for my brothers to be free, unquote. The CJP and several opposition leaders have demanded the impeachment of the chief election commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar, over allegations of voter list manipulation and unilateral decision making within the election commission. Another demand is to halt the special intensive revision of electoral rolls.