‘Rebellious since childhood’: Mother of Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke; police deployed outside Maharashtra home

CHHATRAPATI SAMBHAJINAGAR: Even as the profile of Abhijeet Dipke, the founder of Cockroach Janata Party, continues to soar online, the mix of admiration, trolling, and threats underscores the volatile environment around digital political expression, prompting the police to step in to prevent any untoward incident on the ground.

On Saturday, the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar city police deployed security outside the Waluj residence of Abhijeet Dipke, the founder of Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), after he allegedly received death threats targeting him and his family members, even as his satirical online campaign continues to gain massive nationwide traction.

Abhijeet recently shared screenshots and videos of the alleged threats on social media, highlighting both support and backlash around his campaign, which has exploded online amid the ongoing outrage over the alleged NEET examination paper leak and the anger among students and parents. Police sources said several messages circulating on social media and WhatsApp warned of “dire consequences” and threatened to trace and attack Dipke’s parents and family members.

“The security has been deployed to ensure there is no law and order situation, or any other untoward incident,” police commissioner Pravin Pawar said on Saturday, confirming precautionary deployment outside Dipke’s home in the Bajajnagar area.

Deputy commissioner of police Pankaj Atulkar also conducted a spot visit. “The security will continue for the next few days to avoid any untoward incident near the Dipke family’s residence,” he said, citing growing public curiosity and sharp reactions around Abhijeet’ Dipke’s online movement.

The security cover comes at a time when Dipke’s digital footprint has surged. His Instagram and X accounts linked to the Cockroach Janta Party reportedly got millions of followers within days, with the Instagram handle alone touching around 22 million followers.

Abhijeet’s parents have expressed both pride and concern over the development. Born on Sept 29, 1995, Dipke hails from a family originally from Santuk Pimpri in Hingoli district, later settling in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar after his father, Bhagwanrao Dipke, got a job at the MIDC. He retired as a deputy engineer. Abhijeet’s mother, Anita Dipke, is a homemaker, while his elder sister is based in the United States.

Abhijeet’s mother said his political interest surfaced early. “Abhijeet has been rebellious since childhood. Once he decides on something, he goes ahead with it. That is what worries us,” she said, expressing concern over his possible entry into active politics. She added that politics was “not a good field” in the current climate and hoped he would avoid that path.

Abhijeet Dipke studied at Alphonso English School in Waluj MIDC and completed his higher secondary education in science at the SB College. After dropping out of engineering studies in Pune, he shifted tracks to pursue mass communication and journalism from Symbiosis, Pune.

He later moved to the United States, where he is currently pursuing a master’s degree in public relations.

According to the family members, Abhijeet was drawn to public causes as early as Class VIII, during the Anna Hazare movement, when he wore the “Main Anna Hazare” cap during protests. He later worked with a social media team of Aam Admi Party (AAP) before launching the now-viral satirical initiative.