Abhijeet Dipke Detained on Flight Before CJP's Delhi Protest, Says "Arrest Me"

A Delhi Police team boarded an Air India flight carrying Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke shortly after it landed in the national capital on Saturday morning, detaining him amid a tense confrontation ahead of the party’s planned protest at Jantar Mantar. Dipke broadcast the incident live on Instagram, showing police personnel entering the aircraft and taking him and fellow CJP members Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka into custody.

The footage captured heated exchanges between the party leaders and police officers. Dipke questioned why the officers had not waited for the passengers to leave the aircraft before making the arrests. Addressing the women police personnel who entered the plane, he was heard saying that they could have waited until the group deboarded, adding that the protesters were not afraid of being arrested. Following the detention, the three CJP leaders were escorted from the airport by police personnel to an undisclosed location.

Dipke had travelled from Mumbai to Delhi earlier that morning to lead the party’s demonstration against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar at Jantar Mantar. The CJP condemned what it described as the “authoritarian detention” of Dipke, Das and Ranka immediately after their flight arrived in Delhi. The party alleged that the police action had been planned in advance to prevent its leadership from participating in the scheduled demonstration.

The CJP also accused the authorities of attempting to weaken the protest before it could reach the designated venue. It called for the immediate and unconditional release of the three leaders, arguing that their detention violated their freedom of movement. The airport incident followed reports of other detentions earlier on Saturday. YouTuber Dhruv Rathee and Ratna Singh, who heads the CJP’s legal cell, were reportedly detained at their residences to prevent them from joining the protest.

Delhi Police had also detained more than 400 people suspected of participating in the demonstrations from various parts of the capital overnight. On Friday, police had refused permission for the CJP’s proposed protest, citing the failure to submit the application sufficiently in advance. The planned demonstration has been accompanied by extensive security measures across Delhi. According to the information provided, 45 metro stations were shut and dozens of train services were cancelled amid efforts to restrict protesters’ movement. More than 20,000 personnel from Delhi Police and the Central Armed Police Forces were deployed to maintain law and order. The detentions and security restrictions have placed the proposed demonstration under intense scrutiny, with the CJP alleging that the measures were intended to prevent peaceful political mobilisation. The police’s stated reason for denying permission was the timing of the application.

Disclaimer: This image is taken from NDTV.