Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder paternal grandmother, Savitribai Dipke, died on Saturday at the age of 85, hours after he was detained by Delhi Police upon arriving in the national capital, reported.
Sources told ETV Bharat that Savitribai had been unwell for the past few days and died on Saturday morning at the family’s native village of Santuk Pimpri in Maharashtra’s Hingoli district.
The news of her death came hours after Dipke was detained by Delhi Police aboard a flight from Mumbai to Delhi, where he was travelling with fellow CJP activists Saurav Das and Ashutosh to participate in the party’s proposed protest against Chief Election Commissioner .
Dipke’s parents, Bhagwan Deepke and Anita, were in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar when news of Savitribai’s death emerged. Family sources said they would leave immediately for Hingoli.
Police presence had been increased around their residence amid the planned protest in Delhi.
As Dipke remained in police custody, it was unclear whether he had been informed about his grandmother’s death. Sources said police were likely to arrange for him to travel to Sambhajinagar once he received the news.
Earlier on Saturday, police stepped up security outside Dipke’s residence in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in view of the planned protest, PTI reported, citing an official.
A senior police official said deployment had been increased outside his residence in the MIDC Waluj area.
“Earlier, one guard was stationed at Dipke’s residence. Now the headquarters has deployed a team of 20 policemen considering the situation in New Delhi,” an official from the local police station said.
The CJP has called for a demonstration at Jantar Mantar against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over allegations of voter-list manipulation during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and changes relating to Form 6, which is used for voter registration.
Dipke and CJP activists Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were travelling from Mumbai to Delhi to participate in the proposed demonstration when they were detained by police upon arrival.
Delhi Police had denied permission for the planned protest, citing security considerations and procedural requirements. Security arrangements were stepped up across the national capital ahead of the demonstration.
