Abhijeet Dipke's grandmother passes away; family informs him in detention
What's the story
Abhijeet Dipke, the founder of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), has been informed about his grandmother's death while he remains in detention in Delhi. The 85-year-old Savitribai Shankarrao Dipke passed away at her home in Maharashtra's Hingoli district on Saturday. Family sources said she had been ill for a month and was earlier hospitalized in Hingoli, as per PTI. Dipke's family was initially unable to reach him due to his detention.
Funeral plans
Family unable to reach him due to detention
Dipke's parents have been informed and are heading to Hingoli for the last rites, which are scheduled for 10am on Sunday.
"It is now up to him whether he wants to stay back and continue the protest under detention or fly back for the last rites," Delhi Police sources, quoted by news agency ANI, said.
The CJP leader had met his grandmother on August 15 during a campaign launch in Hingoli district.
Protest plans
What we know about his detention
Dipke and other CJP leaders were detained by Delhi Police after they landed in Delhi from Mumbai for a protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The protest was planned at Jantar Mantar over alleged irregularities in electoral rolls. However, permission for the demonstration was denied by authorities citing public safety and law-and-order concerns.
Security in the capital has been tightened ahead of this planned protest.
Video message
Dipke anticipated his arrest
In a pre-recorded video released by the CJP, Dipke had anticipated his possible arrest.
He said if he and co-conveners Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka are detained, Ajinkya Shinde would lead the protest.
"If you're watching this video, that means Ashutosh, Saurav, and I have been arrested," he said in the clip.