Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke on Tuesday slammed Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis for not reaching out to the family of Akanksha Chaturvedi, a NEET (UG) aspirant who ended her life in Nagpur last month.

The cancellation of the NEET (UG) examination held on May 3, following allegations of a question paper leak, reportedly left 18-year-old Akanksha Chaturvedi from Madhya Pradesh extremely distressed. She died by suicide in Nagpur on May 20, 2026. Authorities said a note recovered after her death indicated that she was unable to face the prospect of taking the highly competitive medical entrance test again.

Addressing a gathering at a protest organised by the CJP at Samvidhan Square, Dipke said she had to commit suicide due to the "failure" of the government.

"It is shameful that the Maharashtra chief minister, who belongs to Nagpur, did not even made a phone call to the family of Akanksha. She was staying just a few kilometres away from your residence (in Nagpur). Wasn't it your responsibility to at least call his family?" he added.

Recently, during a protest at Jaipur's Shaheed Smarak demanding accountability and the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET paper leak controversy, which has affected the futures of lakhs of students, Dipke, who had consistently urged protesters to remain peaceful, was allegedly slapped multiple times by two individuals.

After the assault, Dipke posted on X saying, "Physical attacks are a sign of fear and cowardice. We will continue to raise our voices peacefully. I am a follower of Gandhi and Ambedkar, and I will keep fighting this battle with peace and love. PS: Dharmendra Pradhan must resign!"