CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke’s grandmother dies while he is in police detention in Delhi

CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke’s paternal grandmother, the mother of his father Bhagwan Dipke, has passed away after a prolonged illness and age-related health problems that had left her unwell for several days.

The news came while Dipke was in Delhi. He had flown out of Mumbai on Saturday morning to take part in a protest calling for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, but was detained by police on arrival at Delhi airport.

His parents, Anita and Bhagwan Dipke, are currently in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, where police have been stationed outside their home. They are expected to set out for Hingoli right away to attend the funeral.

With the family in mourning, the question now is whether Delhi Police will permit Dipke to travel to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar or Hingoli to join them. No information about his release or travel plans was available at the time of writing.

Detained on the flight

According to police, Dipke and fellow CJP members Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were taken into custody at Indira Gandhi International Airport on Saturday, ahead of their planned demonstration at Jantar Mantar.

Delhi Police officers boarded the aircraft soon after it landed, and the three were detained before they could leave the plane. Dipke shared a video of the moment on social media, in which he can be heard telling the officers, “...I have come here to be arrested; arrest me.”

The CJP confirmed the detentions on its own social media account, posting the names of all three members.

The group had planned the Jantar Mantar protest against CEC Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the country’s electoral rolls.