YouTuber Dhruv Rathee was detained at his Gurugram residence on October 10 to prevent him from attending an unauthorized Cockroach Janta Party protest in Delhi. The demonstration aimed to demand the Chief Election Commissioner’s resignation over alleged electoral roll irregularities.
YouTuber Dhruv Rathee was detained at his residence in Gurugram on Saturday morning, October 10, ahead of a planned Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar. Police teams reached his home in Kendriya Vihar society in Sector 56 and asked him not to travel to the national capital for the demonstration.
According to a senior Gurugram Police official quoted by Hindustan Times, officers urged Rathee to cooperate with the authorities and help maintain peace. The official said Rathee was detained after he declined their requests not to travel to Delhi. The protest had been denied permission by the police.
The CJP confirmed Rathee’s detention in a post on X, strongly criticising the action.
“Dhruv Rathee has been detained. The Dictator is TERRIFIED of young people who question its wrongdoings and refuse to stay silent!” the party wrote.
The party alleged that the detentions were part of a broader crackdown intended to suppress opposition to alleged irregularities in electoral rolls. In a statement, the CJP said the arrests were part of an “aggressive, citywide government crackdown designed to silence democratic dissent regarding electoral roll irregularities”.
It demanded the “immediate and unconditional” release of Rathee and others detained ahead of the protest.
Content creator Kavya Karnatac, known on Instagram as ‘kk.create’, was also detained in Dhaula Kuan. Ratna Singh, the CJP’s head of legal affairs, was among those detained, according to reports.
Why Was the CJP Planning a Protest?
The demonstration was planned at Jantar Mantar to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over concerns surrounding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Rathee, who is based in Germany, had travelled to India ahead of the protest and urged people through social media to join the gathering. The authorities stepped up security in Delhi after denying permission for the event, citing concerns about maintaining public order.
The detention comes amid heightened security across the capital, with police taking preventive action against people suspected of joining the planned mobilisation. The CJP, however, has maintained that its protest concerns electoral transparency and democratic dissent.