Unaware of Abhijeet Dipke's whereabouts after alleged detention at Delhi Airport: NCP-SCP spokesperson

New Delhi [India]: NCP-SCP spokesperson Anish Gawande on Saturday said they were unaware of the whereabouts of Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) activist Abhijeet Dipke after police personnel allegedly took him off a flight at Delhi Airport.

Gawande said they did not know whether Dipke had been taken out of the airport or was still there.

Speaking to reporters at Delhi Airport, Gawande said they were travelling on the same flight and that Dipke and two other CJP leaders were seated in front of him.


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"We were all on the same flight. The three of them were sitting right in front of me. Police officers entered the aircraft, inconvenienced all other passengers and picked him up from the aircraft. We do not even know whether he (Dipke) has been brought out of the airport or is still there," he said.

Earlier in the day, Dipke, who travelled from Mumbai to Delhi to participate in the planned CJP protest, posted a video on Instagram alleging that police personnel were detaining him and his associates as they disembarked from their flight at Delhi Airport.

Delhi Police continued to detain activists after informing them that permission had not been granted for the protest.

Gawande further said that young people were making their way to Jantar Mantar to participate in the CJP protest. He expressed hope that the Delhi Police would not use excessive force and would treat protesters as equal citizens rather than criminals.

"The plan will be revealed to you very soon. Currently, young people are making their way to Jantar Mantar. We hope that the Police will not use excessive violence or force. We hope that the Police will treat young people of this country as equal citizens, rather than criminals who deserve to be punished," he said.

The CJP has called for a protest on Saturday, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and opposing the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

The proposed demonstration comes amid a political confrontation between the Opposition and the Election Commission of India (ECI) over allegations of "vote chori" and the revision of electoral rolls.