NEW DELHI: Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke has accused Delhi Police of mentally harassing him and his family during his detention, questioning why his relatives were allegedly not told where he was being held and demanding to know whether the police had shown any humanity.“Delhi Police was mentally torturing not just me but my family as well. Did the Delhi Police tell my family where I was being held? They kept telling me to speak to my parents, but did they tell my parents which jail or police station I was in? If they did not, why not? Why did they not tell them? Did they have no humanity?” Dipke said.The remarks come amid a dispute between Dipke and Delhi Police over the circumstances of his detention and the events surrounding the death of his grandmother.Dipke was detained along with CJP co-convenor Saurav Das and party leader Ashutosh Ranka at Delhi airport on October 10, ahead of the party’s planned protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Dipke challenges Delhi Police video, alleges key portions were edited
The controversy intensified after Delhi Police released a video showing officers informing Dipke about his grandmother’s death and offering assistance to help him travel to his hometown in Maharashtra for the last rites.Dipke challenged the footage, alleging that it did not show the complete sequence of events. He demanded that the police release the full, unedited video, arguing that portions showing him asking for his phone and seeking to contact his cousin and lawyers had been left out.He alleged that he was denied access to his phone to retrieve his cousin’s contact number and was also not allowed to speak to his lawyer.Dipke questioned the police’s claim that he had declined assistance to contact his family.
Delhi Police says Dipke was informed
Delhi Police has denied allegations that it failed to inform Dipke about his grandmother’s death. Deputy Commissioner of Police Neha Yadav said officers approached him after receiving the news and offered assistance with phone calls, flights and other arrangements to facilitate his journey home.The police also maintained that Dipke was repeatedly asked whether he wanted to speak to his parents but declined the offer.Dipke, however, has disputed the police’s account and questioned the manner in which he was asked to contact his parents after his arrest.He has also alleged that officers insisted he sign arrest papers despite knowing that his grandmother had died.His paternal grandmother, Savitribai Shankarrao Dipke, 85, died in Santuk Pimpri village in Maharashtra’s Hingoli district after a prolonged illness and age-related ailments.The family held her last rites before Dipke could return home following his detention and release.(With agency inputs)
