A Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest in Rajasthan took a dark turn on Monday, when founder Abhijeet Dipke was suddenly slapped by a few youths in the crowd.
The protest at Jaipur's Shaheed Smarak is one in a series of nationwide protests by the CJP demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Visuals from the scene show that the slaps came after Dipke was hoisted onto the shoulders of a man, from where he had been waving to the large crowd, when disaster struck.
A few men got closer and suddenly slapped him on the face, which took him by surprise. Dipke was then beaten repeatedly, but how he managed to escape, and the extent of his injuries are still unknown.
Visuals from another angle also seem to show that the miscreants tried to pull Dipke down to the ground while he was being beaten.
This comes after Dipke had called for a peaceful protest at the Shaheed Smarak, similar to the satirical outfit's other protests across the country.
"Physical attacks are a sign of fear and cowardice ... I am a follower of Gandhi and Ambedkar, and I will keep fighting this battle with peace and love," Dipke wrote in an X post after the incident, reiterating that the CJP would continue to protest peacefully.
News of the assault quickly went viral, leaving netizens divided.
"There are a few useless people who are themselves enslaved, and think that they should enslave others as well," one user wrote in response to Dipke's post.
"Rajasthan's heat ... the cockroaches could not handle it," another user wrote, mocking the attack on Dipke.
"True followers of Gandhi & Ambedkar never bow to violence. Your resolve is inspiring. Keep raising your voice peacefully. We stand with you," a third user wrote, in support of Dipke.
It is also not yet known whether the alleged assault will affect the CJP's plans to have Dipke lead the protest planned at Nagpur on Tuesday.
