Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke on Saturday announced an indefinite hunger strike, hours after the Delhi Police "forcefully took away" activist Sonam Wangchuk from the protest site in Jantar Mantar.
"Abhijeet Dipke sits on an indefinite hunger strike. The ‘Chalo Sansad’ march on 20 July will proceed as planned," the CJP said in a post on X.
In a separate post from his account, Abhijeet said, "I am starting an indefinite hunger strike beginning right now".
The development comes after the Delhi Police on Saturday morning cracked down on the protesters at Jantar Mantar and shifted Sonam Wangchuk to the Safdarjung Hospital.
In a statement, Delhi Police said Wangchuk was shifted for "essential medical care" following expert medical advice and in compliance with the high court's orders.
The police also appealed to the protesters to end their agitation, saying they should peacefully vacate the protest site at the earliest.
Soon after the police action, Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) founder Abhijit Dipke alleged that the protesters were subjected to a police crackdown.
"I have been beaten up and put under detention by Delhi Police," Dipke said in a post on X.
Speaking to ANI, Dipke claimed that police personnel arrived at the protest site early in the morning and removed Wangchuk by force.
"At 7 am, when I stepped out to freshen up, police goons arrived here. They dragged Sonam Sir away while hurling abuse at him. A 60-year-old man, who had been on a hunger strike for 20 days and hadn't eaten a thing was forcibly dragged away by the Delhi Police.
"We have no idea where they have taken him. When I received the news and was on my way to Jantar Mantar from my friend's house, the police assaulted me as well...These aren't police officers; they are RSS goons. I had returned to my country from abroad; am I a criminal? They are goons--not police, but RSS goons," he told reporters.
Meanwhile, Cockroach Janata Party Chief Spokesperson Saurav Das also claimed that police had detained Dipke and were removing Wangchuk from the protest site.
"The Delhi Police has stopped Abhijeet Dipke where he was staying. People are telling me that Sonam Wangchuk is being picked up from the protest site. Students are being lathicharged!," he wrote on X.
Wangchuk had been on an indefinite hunger strike since June 28 in support of the CJP-led protest over alleged irregularities in the NEET examination and the reported deaths of students linked to the controversy.
Dipke's announcement came amid continued protests at Jantar Mantar, with AISA activists Neha, Aameen and Manish also carrying on with their hunger strike after Wangchuk's hospitalisation.
(With inputs from agencies)
