NEW DELHI, Oct 11: YouTuber and political commentator Dhruv Rathee was released late on Saturday night after being detained by Delhi Police ahead of the Cockroach Janata Party’s (CJP) planned protest at Jantar Mantar, a police officer said.
Rathee was detained from his residence in Sector 56, Gurugram, on the morning of October 10 as police tightened security across the national capital to prevent demonstrators from reaching Jantar Mantar for a protest demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The demonstration was organised over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
A police officer said Rathee could face detention again or further legal action if he attempted to reach Jantar Mantar in violation of prohibitory orders.
The CJP, a political satire group, alleged in a post on X that around 50 police personnel in plain clothes arrived at Rathee’s residence at approximately 8 am on October 10 and detained him.
Other CJP members, including Abhijeet Dipke, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, were also placed under preventive arrest before being released by an executive magistrate, according to the report.
Delhi Police detained thousands of protesters, including political leaders and party supporters, as authorities restricted access to the protest site. The demonstrators were subsequently released later that night.
The protest sought to highlight alleged irregularities in the voter-list revision exercise and demand Kumar’s removal. The allegations concerning electoral-roll irregularities remained contested.
