The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) had scheduled a mega protest at Jantar Mantar on 28 August 2026 to challenge alleged irregularities in voter registration. The police denied them permission, citing a late notice. The organisers had mobilised thousands of supporters. The protest was set against the backdrop of the Election Commission's recent reforms.
Dipke was aboard an Air India flight from Mumbai to Delhi when police boarded the aircraft. His mother, Anita Dipke, posted a reel—showing him seated when officers stormed the plane—calling the move 'wrong.' She said she did not know what crime he had committed.
His father, Bhagwanrao Dipke, reacted on Instagram. 'Police can arrest ordinary people but not criminals like rapists and terrorists,' he wrote, adding, 'full support for my son and his friends.'
Coordinates moved Dipke and other CJP leaders to detention centres in Delhi and Gurugram. Hundreds of supporters were taken into preventive custody overnight. Dozens of metro stations were shut and trains cancelled to deter a mass turnout.
AOpposition leaders Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi, who are also protesting, were not detained. The CJP has filed a petition with the Delhi High Court seeking a formal inquiry into the police conduct.