Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke has been detained by the Delhi Police after the flight he travelled from Mumbai landed at the Delhi airport, at least two senior police officers confirmed.
Along with Dipke, two other key leaders of the pressure group, co-convener Saurav Das and spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka, were also detained.
Immediately after their detention, the CJP issued a statement, condemning the detention of the three leaders straight from their flight upon landing at the Delhi airport. It was not immediately clear where the three were taken after their detention.
Deep Dive
Why were CJP leaders Abhijeet Dipke, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka detained at Delhi airport?
When and where were the CJP leaders detained?
What happened when police entered the plane carrying the CJP leaders?
The three CJP leaders arrived in the city for their proposed protest at Jantar Mantar, demanding the resignation of chief election commissioner (CEC), Gyanesh Kumar, over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process of the electoral rolls.
Dipke had already announced through social media that he would be reaching Delhi on Saturday morning.
What the Delhi Police said
“Multiple police officials from the southwest district police were deployed at the Delhi airport to detain Dipke, Das, Ranka and other CJP leaders or supporters arriving in different flights from different states and cities. Special passes were issued to the officials for their access to the airport premises. The three CJP leaders have been detained,” one officer said, asking not to be named.
{{/usCountry}}“Multiple police officials from the southwest district police were deployed at the Delhi airport to detain Dipke, Das, Ranka and other CJP leaders or supporters arriving in different flights from different states and cities. Special passes were issued to the officials for their access to the airport premises. The three CJP leaders have been detained,” one officer said, asking not to be named.
{{/usCountry}}When asked whether the detained CJP leaders will be kept only at the airport premises, another officer, who also wished to remain anonymous, said: “The location where they will be taken cannot be disclosed for security reasons.”
CJP reacts
In their statement, the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) strongly condemns the “authoritarian detention” of CJP leaders Abhijeet Dipke, Saurav Das, and Ashutosh Ranka straight from their flight upon landing in Delhi.
“This pre-planned interception by the Delhi Police aims to cripple the leadership of today's peaceful demonstrations before they even reach the protest site. The CJP denounces this blatant violation of freedom of movement and demands the immediate, unconditional release of Dipke, Das, and Ranka,” the statement said.