Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder and convener Abhijeet Dipke has named the group's national organisation in-charge, Ajinkya Shinde, to lead its protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar if its senior leaders are detained. Dipke was himself detained at Delhi airport on Saturday, along with co-conveners Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, and was allegedly taken to an “undisclosed location”.
The pressure group shared a pre-recorded video of Dipke, which he had filmed on Friday night in anticipation of a possible arrest. In the video, he said Shinde would take charge of the protest at Jantar Mantar if he, Das and Ranka were arrested.
“If you're watching this video, that means Ashutosh, Saurav, and I have been arrested. After us, this movement will be led by Ajinkya. Please follow Ajinkya Shinde, he will be carrying forward Cockroach Janta Party after Ashutosh, Saurav, and me,” Dipke said.
Who is Ajinkya Shinde?
Shinde is the CJP's national organisation in-charge and emerged as one of the key faces of the group's Mumbai agitation earlier this month, where he served as an organiser.
He was also among the CJP leaders booked in connection with allegations of unlawful assembly and sloganeering in Dadar on Gandhi Jayanti. Those named alongside him included Abhijeet Dipke, Pranav Ahire, Ashutosh Ranka, Saurav Das, Afreen Nawaz, Saumya Korde, Ankit Bharadwaj, Vijay Malangi and Yogesh Ingle. More than 400 supporters were also involved in the gathering.
Shinde has built a social media following as the pressure group has expanded its activities. He has around 23,200 followers on Instagram.
He was also among the CJP members who spearheaded the group's ‘School Thik Karo’ campaign, which aims to improve the condition of government schools across India.
CJP leaders detained after landing in Delhi
Dipke, Das and Ranka were detained at Indira Gandhi International Airport on Saturday, shortly after their flight landed in the national capital. Videos shared by the CJP showed police personnel entering the aircraft before passengers began disembarking.
A senior Delhi Police official confirmed the detentions and said teams from the force's south-west district had been deployed at the airport.
The CJP strongly condemned the action, describing the detentions as “authoritarian” and alleging a “violation of freedom of movement”. The group's head of legal affairs, Ratna Singh, was also detained earlier on Saturday.
The detentions came ahead of the CJP's planned protest at Jantar Mantar against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Dipke's pre-recorded message indicated that the group intended to continue the agitation under Shinde's leadership if its senior organisers were taken into custody.