Hingoli, October 2026 : The paternal grandmother of Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke died on Saturday in Santuk Pimpri village of Maharashtra’s Hingoli district, raising questions over whether he would be allowed to leave Delhi to attend her last rites.
The elderly woman had been unwell for the past few days due to prolonged illness and age-related ailments. Dipke was in Delhi when the news of her death reached him, having travelled from Mumbai to participate in a protest demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
However, he was detained by Delhi Police at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI) shortly after his flight arrived on Saturday morning.
Dipke’s parents, Anita and Bhagwan Dipke, are currently in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, where police personnel have reportedly been deployed outside their residence. Following the news of the grandmother’s demise, they are expected to leave for Hingoli to attend the last rites.
The family’s immediate concern is whether Dipke will be permitted to travel to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar or Hingoli to be with his relatives during the bereavement. Details regarding his release, the legal status of his detention and any possible travel arrangements were not immediately available.
The development comes amid heightened attention surrounding the detention of the CJP founder and two of his associates ahead of the party’s planned demonstration in the national capital.
Earlier on Saturday, Dipke, along with CJP members Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, was detained at IGI Airport as they arrived from Mumbai for the proposed protest at Jantar Mantar.
According to reports, Delhi Police personnel entered the aircraft after it landed and detained the three leaders. Dipke subsequently shared a video on social media showing police personnel entering the flight during the operation.
In the video, he could be heard telling the police, “I have come here to be arrested; arrest me.”
The CJP also announced the detentions through a post on its social media account, stating: “Abhijeet Dipke DETAINED! Saurav Das DETAINED! Ashutosh Ranka DETAINED!”
The leaders had travelled to Delhi to participate in the CJP’s proposed protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The demonstration was intended to raise allegations of irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and demand the CEC’s resignation.
The circumstances surrounding the detentions, including the legal grounds for the police action and the next steps, were not immediately clear.
With Dipke’s grandmother’s death adding a personal dimension to the developments, attention has now shifted to whether the authorities will permit him to travel to his hometown for the funeral. No official confirmation regarding his release or permission to travel was available at the time of reporting.
