For the Dipke family, Saturday became a day marked by both political confrontation and personal loss.
Stay updated with the latest Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar news.
Recalling a conversation before one of his trips, she said she had warned her son that he could be detained at any time. “He told me, ‘Mummy, it is not like that. I belong to this country’,” she said.
I want to do something for the country. Dipke had declared before reaching Delhi that he was prepared to face arrest. For the Dipke family, Saturday became a day marked by both political confrontation and personal loss. Even as they prepare for her last rites, the uncertainty over if Abhijeet Dipke will be allowed to bid a final farewell to his grandmother now hangs over the family members. Download the TOI App.
“My mother, Savitribai, breathed her last around 12.30pm at our home in Santuk Pimpri village.
Abhijeet and she shared a close bond,” said Bhagwanrao Dipke, the CJP founder’s father. Despite the detention, Bhagwanrao said the family would stand by his son. The double blow triggered an emotional response from Dipke’s family members, who accused govt of targeting him and demanded answers over his detention. She was unwell and bedridden for some time. “Since his illegal detention, we have not been able to speak to him and we don’t know his whereabouts. As he travelled to Hingoli to attend his mother’s funeral, Bhagwanrao questioned the police action. He demanded that Delhi Police disclose the legal grounds for detaining his son and asked what offence he had committed. “I am not worried about Abhijeet. He has chosen to take up this cause, and we will stand by him. Dipke’s mother, Anita, also lashed out at govt. “Why is govt detaining Abhijeet when it is not arresting rapists? They (police personnel) went into the aircraft to detain him. What kind of rule is this?” she asked.
CHHATRAPATI SAMBHAJINAGAR: Barely hours after CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke was detained by Delhi police upon landing in the national capital on Saturday morning, his grandmother died at the family home in Maharashtra’s Hingoli district. The Dipke family is not sure if he will be allowed to attend her last rites on Sunday. We don’t know whether he will be returning to attend his grandmother’s last rites on Sunday morning,” he added.