Dipke Calls Delhi Gathering After Grandmother's Death and Disputed Police Detention

Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke was detained in Delhi 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 identified her as Savitribai Shankarrao Dipke and reported that she died at 11.30 a.m. at the paternal house in Santuk Pimpri village. She had been unwell with a prolonged illness and age-related ailments, NDTV India reported.

Her death brought an immediate question about contact between Dipke and his family. The CJP sought his release, while his family wanted to speak with him before last rites scheduled for Sunday morning, according to Times of India Top Stories.

On October 10, Times now reported, citing police sources, that Delhi Police had informed Dipke of his grandmother's death and left the choice of attending her last rites to him. India News reported that officers offered help with flying home.

On October 11, Delhi Police released video showing Dipke being told about the death in detention and officers offering assistance, according to India Today. Police said he declined offers of calls and travel assistance, India News reported.

Dipke disputed that account. He alleged that police denied him access to his phone and lawyers, while police said he declined calls, according to Mint. The disagreement concerns whether he had a usable opportunity to contact his family, not simply whether officers mentioned the death.

Dipke also challenged the completeness of the video. According to The Hindu, he asked why police had deleted the part where he requested his phone to retrieve his cousin's number and asked to speak with his lawyers. He renewed his challenge over phone access on October 12, Indian Express reported.

By October 13, the confrontation had expanded beyond his own detention. Dipke alleged that three CJP leaders who went to Jantar Mantar and unfurled the tricolour were being illegally detained, according to Times now. That was his allegation, rather than an established finding.

The latest coverage concerns two named CJP leaders, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, who were sent to five days of judicial custody. The Hindu reported that they allegedly violated peace bonds and trespassed at Jantar Mantar. According to Times now, Delhi Police said their conduct breached bond conditions at the denotified protest site.

Dipke returned to Delhi and criticised the Centre over their custody, NDTV India reported on October 14. The supplied coverage does not resolve the conflicting accounts of his access to family and lawyers after his grandmother's death, or establish whether he attended her last rites.

Dipke has called for people to gather with the tricolour at Connaught Place at 5 p.m. on October 16, and urged similar marches in other cities, according to The Hindu. That is the next announced event in the confrontation.

The other immediate issue is the custody of Das and Ranka. The reports establish a five-day judicial custody order, but do not provide a subsequent court outcome or release date.