‘Are students Chambal dacoits?’: Abhijeet Dipke’s parents slam Delhi Police crackdown

CHHATRAPATI SAMBHAJINAGAR: Parents of Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) convenor Abhijeet Dipke on Saturday criticised the detention of their son and hundreds of protesters in Delhi ahead of the party’s proposed demonstration against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, questioning the heavy police deployment and accusing the government of undermining democracy.Dipke’s father asked whether students protesting over electoral issues were “Chambal dacoits”, while his mother questioned why the protesters had been detained from a flight.Delhi Police launched a sweeping crackdown in the national capital, detaining Dipke, YouTuber Dhruv Rathee and nearly 500 protesters, foiling their attempt to reach Jantar Mantar for the planned CJP demonstration.Dipke’s father questions police deploymentAbhijeet’s father, Bhagwan Dipke, questioned the deployment of a large police force for what he described as a student agitation.''I don't understand why so much police force is deployed in Delhi? It is an agitation of students. Have dacoits from Chambal gathered in Delhi? Dacoits are sitting in Parliament," Bhagwan Dipke told reporters.When asked about the protest taking place without permission, he questioned the need for official clearance to demonstrate against the government."Why is permission needed when every Indian has a legal right to protest. This means they (government) don't follow democracy. How would they grant permission (to agitate) against them (government) when this protest is meant to expose them? There is no question of permission here.""He is Chandra Shekhar Azad and Bhagat Singh for me,'' he added.‘Do they arrest rapists like this?’: Abhijeet Dipke’s motherAbhijeet’s mother, Anita Dipke, also criticised the police action, questioning why protesters had been detained from an aircraft.''This is wrong on the part of the government. What have these people done that they had to be detained from a flight? Do they go to the houses of rapists and arrest them? They don't. But they arrested these people, including Abhijeet Dipke, when there was no need to do so," she added.Delhi Police detain over 1500 protestors ahead of CJP protestDelhi Police on Saturday detained around 1500 protesters while preventing them from gathering at Jantar Mantar for the proposed CJP demonstration against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.Protesters were detained from several locations across the New Delhi area. Police were also using drones to monitor the movement of people attempting to reach the protest site.(With PTI inputs)Stay updated with the latest Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar news. Download the TOI App.