‘Government Has Not Done the Right Thing’: Parents React to Abhijeet Dipke’s Detention at Delhi Airport

Bhagwan Dipke, Abhijeet’s father, called the detention an unprecedented development, alleging that a student raising his voice to protect democracy had been taken into custody from inside an aircraft.

Drawing a comparison with cases involving major criminals and industrialists who fled abroad with Indian funds, he questioned why a young student had been detained for raising concerns about democracy.

Asked about the state of democracy in India, Bhagwan Dipke said he believed democratic space was shrinking and alleged that the government wanted to establish a “One Nation, One Party” system by eliminating other political parties.

Meanwhile, Abhijeet’s mother, Anita Dipke, expressed anguish over her son’s detention and said she had feared he might be arrested when he left home.

She recalled warning him about the possibility of arrest, but said he had reassured her that nothing of the sort would happen. Anita also remembered their emotional farewell, saying her son had comforted her and urged her not to cry.

“The government has not done the right thing; what kind of justice is it to arrest young people who work for the country? It feels terrible,” she said, adding that she was unhappy with the government’s approach.

Earlier on Saturday, Abhijeet Dipke and fellow CJP members Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were detained at Delhi’s IGI Airport as they arrived ahead of the organisation’s announced protest at Jantar Mantar against the Election Commission of India.

According to the account shared by Dipke, Delhi Police personnel entered the aircraft after it landed. In a video posted on his social media account, he was heard telling the police, “I have come here to be arrested; arrest me.”

The detention came amid the CJP’s planned demonstration and its demand for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation over alleged electoral irregularities.