Germany-based YouTuber Dhruv Rathee was detained at his residence in Kendriya Vihar society in Sector 56, Gurugram, on Saturday morning after he declined requests from Gurugram and Delhi Police not to travel to the national capital for the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest at Jantar Mantar, police said.
The demonstration was planned for Saturday, but permission had not been granted for the gathering. Police officials said they had approached Rathee at his residence and urged him to comply with their instructions and help maintain peace.
A senior Gurugram Police official said a Delhi Police team first visited Rathee's home and requested that he refrain from travelling to Delhi for the protest. The Delhi Police subsequently informed their Gurugram counterparts about the situation, following which local police personnel also reached his residence.
“Delhi Police also communicated the scenario with us after which our teams also reached his home and urged him to comply with the law and help in maintaining peace,” the official said.
The officer said Rathee was detained after he rejected repeated requests not to travel to the national capital.
“However, we were forced to detain him after he turned down all the requests for not travelling to Delhi. We would have preferred not to detain him in case Rathee would have listened to the law enforcement agencies,” the official said.
Gurugram Police officials added that personnel had been deployed at Rathee's residence and would remain stationed there until further orders.
CJP confirms Rathee's detention
The CJP confirmed Rathee's detention through a post on X, criticising the authorities' action and alleging that the government was afraid of young people questioning its conduct.
“The Dictator is TERRIFIED of young people who question its wrongdoings and refuse to stay silent!” the outfit wrote on the social media platform.
The post followed Rathee's recent appeal on social media, including X, urging people to gather at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on Saturday for the CJP protest.
Rathee, who is based in Germany and had recently travelled to India, had publicly called for participation in the demonstration. His detention came amid heightened security arrangements in the national capital ahead of the planned gathering.
The protest was called by the CJP against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in electoral rolls. The authorities had imposed extensive restrictions in central Delhi, including security deployments, traffic diversions and curbs on access to several metro stations.
Police said their action against Rathee followed his refusal to comply with requests not to travel to Delhi for the demonstration. Personnel were directed to remain at his Gurugram residence until further orders.