RTI activist seeks probe into Dipke father’s finances, CJP fund

A Surat-based RTI activist has asked central authorities to examine two money trails now tied to Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke: how his father paid for a US education, and how a Rs 1 crore legal-aid pledge to CJP protesters should be treated under election and tax law.

According to a PTI report carried by The Times of India on Saturday, activist Amit Tiwari said he has sought a probe into the finances of Dipke’s father, Bhagwanrao Dipke, described as a retired Maharashtra government employee who funded his son’s higher education abroad. Tiwari told the agency he has also written to the Election Commission of India and Central GST authorities about the legal defence fund announced by senior advocate and Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal for CJP protesters facing police cases.

"The Cockroach Janta Party is an unregistered entity but is operating as a political party....If Rs 1 crore has been pledged to it as a legal defence fund, then the EC should verify whether the CJP is registered with it under section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. If not registered, then its operation under the name of a political party and collection/receipt of funds may require examination." — Amit Tiwari, as quoted by PTI via The Times of India

Tiwari also wrote to the Central Board of Excise and Customs, The Times of India reported, asking whether 18% GST would apply to the Rs 1 crore Sibal pledged for the legal defence fund of CJP protesters.

What we can verify

• On Saturday, 1 August 2026, The Times of India (PTI) reported that Surat RTI activist Amit Tiwari said he had sought an inquiry into Bhagwanrao Dipke’s finances and written to the Election Commission and Central GST authorities about the CJP legal defence fund. — The Times of India
• Tiwari’s quoted claim that CJP is unregistered under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, and that receipt of a Rs 1 crore pledge may need EC examination, is reported by PTI via TOI. Whether the EC has docketed or acted on any such letter is [unverified] in the reporting cited here.
• Kapil Sibal, an Independent Rajya Sabha MP and senior advocate, publicly announced a Rs 1 crore contribution toward legal aid for CJP / NEET-linked protesters and a website linking affected students with volunteer lawyers, at a press conference with CJP spokesperson Saurav Das. — Hindustan Times
• A Free Press Journal report the same day said a social-media video naming Tiwari as complainant over US-education funding could not be independently verified at the time of that outlet’s publication, and that no official confirmation of a registered complaint was then available. — Free Press Journal

What remains unverified

• Whether any formal complaint against Bhagwanrao Dipke has been registered with police, income-tax or other investigating agencies remains [unverified] beyond Tiwari’s own statement to PTI and the circulating video FPJ flagged as unconfirmed.
• The claim, reported in the social-media video and repeated by FPJ as unverified, that Dipke’s father earned about Rs 65,000 a month while funding a US education is [unverified]; neither TOI’s PTI copy nor public service records cited here establish that figure.
• Whether the Election Commission or CBEC/GST authorities have acknowledged Tiwari’s letters, opened any file, or sought a reply from CJP or Sibal is [unverified].
• No public response from Abhijeet Dipke, Bhagwanrao Dipke, CJP or Kapil Sibal to Tiwari’s Saturday letters was available in the sources used for this report [unverified].

Context

Sibal’s Rs 1 crore pledge came after CJP suspended its multi-week Jantar Mantar sit-in over the NEET paper-leak row, with party leaders warning that FIRs against protesters must still be withdrawn. The Surat letters move that legal-aid story onto a different track: registration status of CJP, tax treatment of a large private contribution, and a separate personal question about how the founder’s overseas education was paid for. None of those questions is answered by the letters alone; they only put the claims on the public record through PTI and follow-up coverage.