'Will hit streets': CJP's Abhijeet Dipke says haven’t signed any bond promising not to protest again

Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke on Sunday said he hasn’t signed any bond that says he and other CJP leaders won’t protest again to seek removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

“We will hit the streets again. We are not afraid of PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah,” Dipke told reporters at Nagpur airport, before proceeding to Hingoli in Maharashtra to attend the last rites of his grandmother.

“Put me in jail a hundred times; we are not afraid of your dictatorship. We will end this dictatorship,” Dipke said.


The CJP founder’s remarks came shortly after Delhi Police released a video to refute the CJP's claim that Dipke was not informed about his grandmother's death while in custody on October 10.

The Supreme Court on Sunday directed that people gathering peacefully should not be illegally detained and asked authorities to ensure that the Delhi Metro functions normally and there is no disruption to internet services, subject to law and order conditions.

In a special sitting, a bench of Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana also issued a notice to the Centre while hearing a plea seeking contempt proceedings for the alleged violation of the court's direction to ensure that there is no "complete prohibition" on metro and train services in Delhi due to the CJP protest.

Earlier in the day, CJP leaders Abhijeet Dipke, Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das were released on the condition that they would not "breach peace" for a year.

At a press conference, Das alleged that the government had turned the state against its own citizens and said the authorities could have invited a delegation for talks instead of restricting protesters seeking to demonstrate at a designated site.

He claimed that Delhi Police officials took away their phones during their detention without issuing any seizure memo, raising concerns that the devices may have been hacked or cloned.

"We suspect that, as alleged in similar cases involving activists in the past, their phones could have been hacked or cloned to plant documents or other material that might later be used as evidence against us," he said during the press conference.

He said that the CJP's agitation was continuing, adding that protests would take place not just in Delhi but across the country.

"The protests are on... Protests will happen not just in Delhi but the whole country," Das said. "This protest will not stop till Gyanesh resigns," CJP co-convener Ashutosh Ranka said.

Referring to the condition imposed on their release, Das said that they had been told there should be no breach of peace for one year.

"The breach of peace has been caused by Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and Gyanesh Kumar," the CJP leader added.

Protest at designated protest spot is not disturbing peace, Ranka said.

On Sunday, all metro stations remained open, while no major traffic restrictions were imposed in Lutyens' Delhi. However, major approach roads to the area were heavily barricaded.

Delhi Police has registered 20 FIRs in connection with Saturday's CJP protest against the CEC over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, officials said on Sunday.

The FIRs include charges related to assault on police personnel and obstruction of public servants in the discharge of their duties, among other offences.

An unprecedented security clampdown and the detention of over 7,000 protesters, including CJP leader Abhijit Dipke and four former chief ministers, helped the government thwart a planned mass mobilisation at Jantar Mantar on Saturday to press for the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar.

On Sunday, around 200 students and protesters were detained as they raised slogans and marched towards Jantar Mantar, with several seen being dragged into police buses, as the protest called by the CJP entered its second day amid heavy security deployment in New Delhi.

Members of several student organisations, including the Students' Federation of India (SFI), All India Students' Association (AISA) and Krantikari Yuva Sangathan (KYS), along with CJP supporters, were detained. CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas and AISA president Neha Bora were also among those detained.

In visuals circulating online, AISA president Neha Bora was seen running as security personnel pursued her before a few officers blocked her path from the front and caught hold of her.

Women police personnel were then seen grabbing her by the arms, while other security personnel held her arms and legs and dragged her away. Bora was also seen clinging to barricades as fellow protesters held on to her, attempting to prevent security personnel from taking her away.