Brittas said the CJP leaders had been treated worse than hijackers. (PTI)
NEW DELHI: CPM Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas on Sunday got into a heated argument with Delhi Police personnel as they attempted to detain him amid a political row over the detention of Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) chief Abhijeet Dipke and other party leaders.
Brittas, along with CPM MP A A Rahim, had criticised the police action against Dipke, Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das, who were reportedly detained aboard their flight from Mumbai after it landed at Indira Gandhi International Airport on Saturday.
Speaking to reporters in Delhi, Brittas said the CJP leaders had been treated worse than hijackers or people accused of major financial scams. “The central government is doing all this because they are scared. The police could have arrested them once they come out of the airport. They could not have escaped from inside the airport. There was no need to detain them from inside the plane,” he said.
Brittas also condemned the action against journalists, alleging that several were detained or prevented from reporting on the protests, PTI reported. He accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah of taking such measures to protect Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Rahim alleged that several CJP activists and protesters who resisted restrictions on the demonstration at Jantar Mantar or objected to the removal of their phones were “brutally tortured”.
Dipke, Ranka and Das were released on Sunday after being produced before the Special Executive Magistrate (SEM) Court at Delhi Cantonment Police Station.
Delhi Police said the three were preventively arrested under Sections 126 and 170 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) on October 10 and produced before the court on October 11. The police said the three were released after furnishing a surety bond of Rs 50,000, with a condition to maintain peace and good behaviour for one year.
CJP legal affairs head Ratna Singh also confirmed their release, saying it was subject to an undertaking to maintain public order. “Condition - no breach of peace for one year,” she posted on X.
Before his release, Dipke had alleged in a video posted on Instagram that Delhi Police personnel entered his flight to detain him and his associates after they landed in Delhi.
“So, you can see that Delhi Police is entering the plane to arrest us. They are all entering the plane. We just landed. All the Delhi Police officers are standing in the aisle. They are trying to arrest us from inside the plane. The entire Delhi Police is getting on the plane. This is the fear of Narendra Modi...Not even Indira Gandhi did this during the Emergency. All we wanted to do is a peaceful protest, and they are picking us up from the flight like we are criminals,” Dipke said.
The detention of the CJP leaders came amid a major security clampdown in Delhi on Saturday. Delhi Police detained protesters, activists and political leaders at multiple locations, including along routes leading to Jantar Mantar, where the CJP had planned to hold a demonstration.
The party and opposition groups have been demanding Kumar’s resignation over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Delhi Police had denied permission for the gathering, and many protesters were detained before they could reach the proposed venue. More than 7,000 protesters were detained at multiple locations, according to the details provided. Several opposition leaders, including former chief ministers Arvind Kejriwal, Mamata Banerjee, Pinarayi Vijayan and Manik Sarkar, were also detained while attempting to join the protest.
