Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders Abhijeet Dipke, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka have been detained upon their arrival in Delhi, amid a sweeping security crackdown ahead of the party’s planned protest at Jantar Mantar on Saturday.
Delhi Police personnel boarded the aircraft carrying Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke after it landed at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport.
“I have come here to be arrested; arrest me,” Dipke told the police personnel.
“This is not an arrest. Please cooperate,” the officers responded.
CJP leaders were travelling from Mumbai to Delhi to participate in the protest. In a video on Instagram Dipke alleged that police personnel were attempting to detain him and his associates as they disembarked from their aircraft at Delhi Airport.
In the video, Dipke is heard claiming that Delhi Police personnel boarded the aircraft shortly after it landed and attempted to take them into custody.
“So, you can see that Delhi Police is entering the plane to arrest us. They are all entering the plane. We just landed. All the Delhi Police officers are standing in the aisle. They are trying to arrest us from inside the plane. The entire Delhi Police is getting on the plane… This is the fear of Narendra Modi… Not even Indira Gandhi did this during the Emergency. All we wanted to do is a peaceful protest, and they are picking us up from the flight like we are criminals,” Dipke said.
In the same video, he further accused the authorities of suppressing peaceful dissent and described the police action as dictatorial.
“You can see where the nation is heading. They are here to arrest us directly from the flight. This is something not even Indira Gandhi had done. This is dictatorship, where Delhi Police has entered the flight and is trying to arrest us. Come on, arrest us. We are here to be arrested. Come on, arrest us. We are here to be arrested… We are not afraid of you,” he said.
CJP legal head Ratna Singh alleges detention outside her home
The CJP also shared a video of its legal head, Ratna Singh, who claimed that police personnel were attempting to detain her as she tried to leave her residence in her car.
In the video, Singh alleged that officers had visited her home earlier in the morning but were informed that she was not there. She also questioned whether the police had any official notice authorising the action.
“They came to my house in the morning and were told that I am not here. We asked for official notification, do they have some? They have nothing. They just said, ‘We need to detain you, we have orders from above.’ I don’t know which ‘above’ the orders came from for them. And they keep saying, ‘Get out of the car, we will detain you at your home.’ They don’t even want to take me anywhere else, they want me to stay here only. And I am not getting out of the car. They are not leaving this space, so I am in a way illegally detained on the road,” Singh claimed.
CJP claims YouTuber Dhruv Rathee detained
The party also claimed that content creator Dhruv Rathee had been detained, accusing the government of being afraid of young people who question its actions.
“The Dictator is TERRIFIED of young people who question its wrongdoings and refuse to stay silent,” the CJP said in its post.
The claims come amid heightened security across the national capital ahead of the planned demonstration against the Election Commission.
Delhi Police detain around 500 people
Delhi Police said on Saturday that around 500 people who arrived in separate groups from different locations had been detained ahead of the protest. Nearly 50 people with criminal antecedents were also apprehended as part of preventive measures, officials said.
“Around 500 people coming in different groups from various locations have been detained. In addition, nearly 50 anti-social elements with criminal antecedents have been picked up so that they do not disturb the atmosphere or incite trouble,” Delhi Police said.
As part of the security arrangements, the New Delhi district has been divided into 20 operational zones, with dedicated detention centres established for each zone, police said.
Several demonstrators were detained after gathering at Jantar Mantar and Sansad Marg, amid tight security and extensive barricading across the capital.
Security personnel have been deployed at multiple locations as CJP activists remain determined to go ahead with their protest against the Election Commission. Entry points to Delhi have been placed under heightened security, while 46 Metro stations remain closed, according to the details provided.
The measures have been introduced to prevent any untoward incident during the demonstration, with police seeking to avoid a recurrence of the July 20 protests.
Bureau Report
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