Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke was offered the option of returning to Maharashtra to attend his grandmother's last rites after she died on Saturday, while he remained in police custody in Delhi ahead of a planned protest at Jantar Mantar.
Delhi Police said they had informed the 31-year-old leader about the death and offered assistance to help him travel to his hometown on humanitarian grounds. Dipke is yet to decide whether he wants to return home for the funeral or remain in detention.
"During the day, unfortunate information was received regarding the death of the grandmother of Abhijeet Dipke. The information was immediately shared with him with due sensitivity, and the known time of the funeral was intimated to him," Delhi Police said.
The police added that they had offered possible facilitation for his journey home. Sources said the decision now rests with Dipke.
Dipke was detained after landing in Delhi
Dipke's grandmother died in Santuk Pimpri village in Maharashtra's Hingoli district on Saturday morning. She had reportedly been suffering from age-related ailments.
At the time, Dipke was travelling from Mumbai to Delhi with fellow CJP leaders to participate in a demonstration demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Soon after their Air India flight landed in the national capital, police personnel boarded the aircraft and detained Dipke, Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das.
The detention prompted a reaction from Dipke's family, who questioned the police action. Speaking to NDTV, his mother, Anita Dipke, described the detention as "wrong", while his father, Bhagwanrao Dipke, expressed full support for his son.
The couple, who are currently in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, are expected to travel to Hingoli to attend the funeral.
CJP protest continues amid mass detentions
Meanwhile, around 1,500 CJP supporters have been detained in Delhi since Friday night as police stepped up security to prevent protesters from reaching Jantar Mantar.
The party had called the demonstration over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and has been demanding Kumar's resignation.
With its top leaders in custody, the CJP has handed responsibility for leading the protest to party leader Ajinkya Shinde until they are released.
The detentions and security restrictions have disrupted the party's plans for a large gathering in the capital, with protesters facing difficulties reaching the designated venue.