Abhijeet Dipke misses grandmother's funeral; parents say Delhi Police did not release him in time

Hingoli: The last rites of Savitribai Shankarrao Dipke, grandmother of Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke, were held at her native village of Santuk Pimpri on the morning of Sunday, October 11. Dipke, still held in Delhi at the time, was released later.

His father, Bhagwan Dipke, said that had Delhi Police released him in time, or even on condition that he return to Delhi after the funeral, his son would certainly have come to see his grandmother. Bhagwan Dipke said he learnt from Instagram that his son had got as far as Nagpur, and that the police should have allowed him time for a last look at his grandmother. His mother, Anita Dipke, said the police could have shown leniency and let him go at such a time, adding that he had been due to come straight from Mumbai for the funeral on Saturday night.

Earlier on Sunday, Anita Dipke had said the family had been unable to contact him and had put the last rites on hold for him. Delhi Police said on Saturday that Dipke had been informed of his grandmother's death and the funeral and had been offered help to travel to his hometown on humanitarian grounds. Dipke, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were detained at the airport on Saturday after arriving in Delhi for a protest against the Chief Election Commissioner.

Sources: Lokmat Times; The Economic Times