CJP asks ‘where is Abhijeet’ after Delhi Police say Dipke was informed of grandmother’s death

The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has questioned the Delhi Police over its handling of detained party founder Abhijeet Dipke’s request to speak to his family, saying his relatives want to talk to him ahead of his grandmother’s last rites scheduled for Sunday morning.

In a post on X, CJP demanded Dipke’s release and questioned his whereabouts: “Where is Abhijeet? His family wants to talk to him, they’re going to perform his grandmother’s last rites tomorrow morning. The least they deserve is to talk to him.”

The post came after the Delhi Police posted on X saying Dipke had been informed about his grandmother’s death and the scheduled time of her funeral. The police also said he had been offered assistance to travel to his hometown on humanitarian grounds.

“The unfortunate information, regarding the death of his grandmother and known time of her funeral was immediately shared with Sh. Abhijeet Dipke,” the Delhi Police said in its post on X. It added that he had also been offered possible facilitation for his journey home.

Nearly 4,000 detained in Delhi

Nearly 4,000 people have been detained in Delhi in view of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)'s Jantar Mantar protest today, the police said. Former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, TMC's Mamata Banerjee and AISA's Neha Bora are among those who were detained in the national capital on Saturday. There were also reports of journalists being detained around Jantar Mantar. Posts and videos on social media showed the detained journalists flashing their press cards from the buses.

Wangchuk warns of hunger strike

Activist Sonam Wangchuk on Saturday warned of going on another hunger strike if the leaders detained during Saturday's crackdown on anti-CEC protest are not released by tomorrow.

In a video message released on his social media handles, the activist claimed that the country was in a state of "undeclared emergency".

"Yesterday when I posted a message appealing for unity and peace in today's protest, I had never imagined that the biggest democracy in the world would be under an undeclared EMERGENCY," he wrote.

Wangchuk, who extended his support to the anti-CEC protest, was unable to physically take part in the agitation in Delhi. "I was happy there were so many leaders to lead the movement, but I now learn that they have all been arrested," he said.

Several INDIA bloc leaders, including former chief ministers Arvind Kejriwal, Mamata Banerjee, Pinarayi Vijayan and Manik Sarkar were detained by Delhi Police on Saturday as they attempted to join the protest at Jantar Mantar demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation over alleged irregularities in electoral rolls.