Dramatic scenes played out at the Delhi airport as the Air India flight carrying Cockroach Janta Party leaders Abhijeet Dipke, Saurav Das, and Ashutosh Ranka landed on Saturday ahead of the outfit's planned protest at Jantar Mantar. Shortly after their flight touched down at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, law enforcement personnel boarded the aircraft to detain the trio. Notably, the Delhi Police opted to send women officers inside the plane to execute the detentions of Dipke and his team.
While officials did not explicitly confirm if the strategy was deliberate, observers noted that deploying male officers inside the confined space of an airplane cabin could have increased the risk of a physical confrontation. With narrow aisles and very little room to maneuver, even a minor scuffle could have quickly escalated into a major commotion. By utilizing women officers, the department likely aimed to minimize the risk of such escalation. Aside from a few heated verbal exchanges, the CJP leaders were ultimately removed from the aircraft without significant chaos.
Footage captured inside the cabin showed female police personnel surrounding the political figures while Dipke questioned the unusual manner of the intervention. He argued that authorities could have waited until the passengers disembarked, describing the operation as heavy-handed and unprecedented. Despite voicing his frustrations and telling the officers to proceed with the arrest, the women personnel maintained composure and urged the group to cooperate.
Following the operation, Dipke, Das, and Ranka were escorted to an undisclosed location. The Cockroach Janta Party had organized the Jantar Mantar 2.0 demonstration to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, and fiercely condemned what they termed the authoritarian detention of their leadership.