Police security has been deployed at the residence of Cockroach Janata Party founder Abhijeet Dipke in the MIDC Waluj area of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, a senior official said on Sunday. Refuting claims that the protection was provided due to threats, Deputy Commissioner of Police Pankaj Atulkar told PTI that it was put in place to ensure there was “no crowding” at the residence.
The Cockroach Janata Party surfaced online last week and quickly drew attention through memes and political commentary focused on unemployment, exam paper leaks, and education-related concerns.
"We have given round-the-clock general police protection to Abhijeet Dipke's residence located in MIDC Waluj area. This is to ensure there is no crowding at his place since the CJP issue is trending on social media right now," Deputy Commissioner of Police Pankaj Atulkar clarified.
Atulkar stated that no police station under his jurisdiction had received any official complaint regarding the matter.
Dipke on Saturday alleged a large-scale crackdown on the digital movement, claiming that all of the party’s social media accounts and its website had either been removed or compromised, leaving the group unable to access its official platforms.
A few days ago, on X, he claimed, “Receiving death threats now.” Dipke posted screenshots of the threat messages.
Are Cockroach Janta Party's followers from Pakistan?
Leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alleged that a significant portion of the CJP’s followers were based in Pakistan. However, Dipke shared a screen recording from the CJP’s official Instagram account displaying follower demographics to counter the claim, according to Alt News.
According to the data, India accounted for 94.7% of the page’s viewers, followed by the United States at 1%, the United Kingdom at 0.7%, and Canada and the United Arab Emirates at 0.6% each. Notably, Pakistan and Bangladesh did not feature in the follower statistics.
Dipke also took to Twitter on May 21 at 5:17 pm to deny the viral allegations, sharing a screenshot that reflected similar figures.
What is Cockroach Janata Party?
The Cockroach Janata Party, as the satirical movement is known, was founded by Abhijeet Dipke, a Boston University student who was previously associated with the Aam Aadmi Party. Despite being launched only a week ago, the outfit has already attracted more than 19 million followers on Instagram.
The platform emerged last week after controversy erupted over remarks reportedly made by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant referring to “cockroaches” and “parasites” during a court hearing related to the ‘senior’ designation of a lawyer.
The CJI later clarified that his observations was aimed at individuals joining the legal profession using "fake and bogus degrees", were misquoted.
Earlier this week, the CJP launched a campaign seeking the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET-UG paper leak issue.
"Action should have been taken against the education minister for the paper leak. For the student who lost his life due to the government's failure. But in New India, action is being taken against the Cockroach Janta Party for demanding accountability," Dipke stated.
