Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the pressure group Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on Sunday left for his native village in Maharashtra following his grandmother’s demise on Saturday, hours after he was set free from police detention in Delhi. Despite the personal loss and police action imposed against his outfit, Dipke’s spirits seemed to be high, as he vowed that the CJP would not retreat from its campaign demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.
Announcing the development on his official ‘X’ handle, Dipke said his fellow co-convenors Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka would address a press conference in the national capital. His post was accompanied by a defiant message against the authorities, where he declared that the outfit would neither back down nor be intimidated.
Dipke and his grandmother in a single frame
The post read, “Heading back to my village to be with my family during this moment of grief. Saurav and Ashu will address a press conference shortly in Delhi. The CJP will neither back down nor be intimidated. October 10 will go down as the beginning of the end of this dictatorship.”
In the first social media post following his release, Dipke also launched a verbal attack on Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi, calling him an ‘embarrassment’ to India and accusing him of bullying and cowardice.
CJP leaders set free on Sunday after detention
Das and Ranka were also released on Sunday after being produced before an executive magistrate in the national capital. The duo had been detained along with Dipke from inside a flight which landed at the Delhi airport on Saturday, ahead of the CJP’s proposed stir at Jantar Mantar. Meanwhile, CJP legal affairs’ head Ratna Singh said the trio was released on the condition that they would not engage in activities which could result in ‘disruption of peace’ for over a year.
On Saturday, more than 7,000 protestors were detained at various locations across Delhi, as per reports, as police stepped up security and laid barricades to restrict access to the demonstration venue. On the other hand, YouTuber Dhruv Rathee, who had been taken into custody by the Gurugram police ahead of his planned participation in the agitation, was also released by the cops in the early hours of Sunday. He was handed over to his family thereafter.
CJP leaders set free on Sunday
A political firestorm erupted after the mass detentions, but the CJP maintained that its agitation would be in force despite the action against its top brass.
SC intervenes over curbs imposed in Delhi
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court directed the authorities concerned on Sunday to ensure that people participating in peaceful gatherings were not detained unlawfully. It also issued a notice to the Union government on a petition seeking contempt proceedings over the alleged violation of its earlier order against a complete shutdown of Metro and train services in the national capital ahead of the CJP protest.
During a special sitting, an SC bench comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to ensure that Delhi Metro services operated as per their regular schedules. It also ordered the Centre to ensure that internet services continue uninterrupted, subject to lawful restrictions necessitated by a law-and-order situation.