Abhijeet Dipke detention dispute grows after grandmother's death and further arrests

Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke was detained by Delhi Police on October 10. Hours later, his 85-year-old paternal grandmother died in the family's native village in Maharashtra's Hingoli district, according to Mint.

The Hindu reported that Savitribai Shankarrao Dipke died at 11.30 a.m. at the paternal house in Santuk Pimpri village. She had been suffering from a prolonged illness and age-related ailments, according to NDTV India.

The bereavement became a dispute over Dipke's treatment in custody. His family wanted to speak with him before the last rites scheduled for Sunday morning, October 11, while the CJP sought his release, Times of India Top Stories reported.

On October 10, Times now, citing ANI's reporting based on Delhi Police sources, said officers had informed Dipke of the death and left the choice of attending the last rites to him. India News reported that police offered help to fly home following detentions connected to a banned Jantar Mantar protest.

On October 11, police released a video to support their account that Dipke had been told about the death and offered assistance, India Today reported. Police said he declined offers of calls and travel assistance, while Dipke said he was denied access to his phone and lawyers, according to Mint.

Dipke challenged the completeness of the footage. The Hindu reported that he asked why the video omitted his requests for his phone to retrieve his cousin's number and to speak with his lawyers. On October 12, he accused police of mentally torturing him and his family, The Hindu reported.

The dispute then widened to other CJP members. On October 13, Dipke alleged that three leaders who went to Jantar Mantar and unfurled the national flag were being illegally detained, according to Times now. By October 14, reporting identified Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka as having been remanded to five days of judicial custody for allegedly violating peace bonds and trespassing at the site, which had been denotified as a protest venue, according to The Hindu.

A separate funding dispute emerged on October 14. American singer Mary Millben alleged that CJP received support from donors in the United States, Mint reported. On October 15, Dipke challenged allegations of foreign funding and asked the government to investigate and publish its findings, according to India News.

The accounts of Dipke's access to family and legal assistance remain in conflict. Police presented their video as evidence of offers of help; Dipke disputed what it showed and said relevant requests were omitted, according to The Hindu. The supplied coverage does not resolve that disagreement.

Dipke has continued challenging the government's handling of protests and his colleagues' custody. Upon returning to Delhi, he criticised the five-day judicial custody of Das and Ranka, NDTV India reported. The foreign funding claim also remains an allegation in the supplied reporting, rather than an established finding.

Dipke has called for supporters to gather with the national flag at Connaught Place at 5 p.m. on October 16, and urged similar marches in other cities, according to The Hindu. India News identified Central Park as the Delhi gathering point.

Other open questions are what happens next in Das and Ranka's custody proceedings and whether the government responds to Dipke's request for a public investigation into the foreign funding allegations, reported by India News.