'Cops wanted to torment my parents at 3.30 am': Dipke's rebuttal to Delhi Police's clip

NEW DELHI: Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke shot back at the Delhi Police after they released a video claiming that while under detention, he was offered to speak to his family after his grandmother's demise.Dipke disputed the force's claim that he had declined assistance to contact his relatives and travel home for her last rites, saying he wasn't given his phone to access contacts.In a statement reacting to the police's account, Dipke said he had repeatedly requested access to his phone to retrieve his cousin's number and speak to a lawyer, but was denied both requests. He also questioned why officers asked him to call his father at 3.30 am and tell him that he could be sent to jail for a long time."I had requested to let me speak to my cousin who lives with my grandmother. Asked for my phone just for a couple of minutes so I could at least take out the number of my cousin.""Why Delhi Police didn’t let me use my phone? I had also asked for a call with lawyer which was again denied."Dipke said the call to his father was particularly distressing because his family had just lost his grandmother."At 3.30 in the morning, Delhi Police asks me to call my father and inform him that tomorrow I’ll be going in jail for a long time. The same father who has just lost his mother. How much more trauma did you want to put my family through after we already lost my grandmother?"Questioning the timing and purpose of the call, he added, "What was the purpose of trying to call my parents at f-ing 3:30 in the morning? You wanted to torment them?"Police say Dipke declined assistanceDipke's allegations came after Delhi Police released a video showing officers informing him of his grandmother's death while he was in detention in the national capital.Deputy Commissioner of Police Neha Yadav said officers approached the CJP founder after learning about the death and offered to help him contact his family, arrange flights and travel to his hometown for the funeral. According to the police, he declined the assistance.“As soon as the Delhi Police received information about the passing away of Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) Founder Abhijeet Dipke's grandmother, officers approached him to convey this sad news and offered all possible assistance. They sensitively asked if he needed help with flights, phone calls, or anything else. They repeatedly asked if he wished to speak to his parents, but he declined,” DCP Yadav said.The police released the video after Dipke's mother, Anita Dipke, accused the force of lying about informing her son of the death. She had said the family was unable to contact him and had postponed the last rites until he could return home.Delhi Police maintained that Dipke had been informed about his grandmother's death and the scheduled funeral. It also said the offer to facilitate his travel was made on humanitarian grounds but was turned down.Dipke's paternal grandmother, Savitribai Shankarrao Dipke, 85, died at her home in Santuk Pimpri village in Maharashtra's Hingoli district at 11.30 am on Saturday. She had been unwell for a prolonged period and was suffering from age-related ailments.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.