Delhi Police Releases Video of CJP Leader Being Told of Grandmother’s Death
Abhijeet Dipke says requests to contact his cousin and lawyer were denied, while police maintain that they informed him sensitively and offered travel assistance.
GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 11th Oct: The Delhi Police has released a video showing Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke being informed of his grandmother’s death while in preventive detention over a planned protest at Jantar Mantar.
In the footage, a female officer informs Dipke of the death and expresses condolences. He remains silent for several seconds before replying, “I see.” A male officer then offers to arrange transportation if he wishes to attend the funeral.
Dipke initially says he will remain in detention and later indicates that he will not be able to attend the funeral scheduled for the following day. Officers also offer to help him contact relatives through an official number.
The police released the video to counter claims that Dipke had not been informed about his grandmother’s death. It said the news was conveyed sensitively and travel assistance was offered, but Dipke declined at the time.
Dipke disputed this account in a post on X. He alleged that he had asked to speak to his cousin, who lives with his grandmother, and requested his phone briefly to retrieve the cousin’s number. He also claimed that his request to speak to a lawyer was denied.
Dipke further alleged that officers asked him around 3:30 am to call his father and inform him that he would be going to jail for a long time. He said this added to the family’s distress following the death.
Dipke was later released and left for his hometown in Maharashtra to attend his grandmother’s last rites.
Dipke, Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das were detained after arriving in Delhi by plane on Saturday. They were on their way to lead a protest at Jantar Mantar demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The police action also led to the preventive detention of thousands of CJP supporters and opposition leaders. Around 3,000 people were reportedly detained, and all were subsequently released.
The CJP has said it will continue its protest.
