YouTuber Dhruv Rathee on Sunday accused the authorities in Gurugram of kidnapping him, rather than detaining or arresting him, hours after he was released from police custody ahead of the Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) protest against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar in Delhi.
YouTuber Dhruv rathee during a protest held in Bengaluru on Oct 8
Posting a video message on his official ‘X’ handle on Saturday night, Rathee alleged that the cops arrived at his residence in Gurugram’s Section 56 and whisked him away. He questioned the police action, and referred to the cops as ‘goons,’ accusing Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi of turning India into a dictatorship.
Rathee, who resides in Germany, had travelled to India to participate in the proposed October 10 stir over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and claims of voter deletion.
CJP leaders detained as Delhi turns into fortress
Rathee was among hundreds of agitators detained as Delhi Police brought into force a sweeping security operation to deter demonstrators from reaching Jantar Mantar. CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke and the outfit’s other prominent faces, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were detained aboard an aircraft shortly after it landed in Delhi from Mumbai. The leaders had arrived in Delhi to helm a protest demanding CEC Kumar’s resignation.
A video of their detention surfaced online, in which Dipke is heard telling the cops who entered the aircraft, “We are here to be arrested, come and arrest us.”
Reportedly, the police personnel informed the leaders that permission had not been granted for the proposed stir at Jantar Mantar. Subsequently, Dipke accused the police personnel of treating CJP leaders like criminals and called the situation a ‘dictatorship.’ He also invoked former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi while slamming the police action.
Other prominent leaders who were detained by the authorities included names such as Kerala’s former CM Pinarayi Vijayan, Tripura’s former CM Manik Sarkar and CPI(M) MP John Brittas.
CJP vows to keep stir in force
Before his detention, Dipke had also recorded a video message announcing that CJP in-charge Ajinkya Shinde would be the leading face of the demonstration at Jantar Mantar in case he, Ranka and Das are picked by cops. The outfit maintained that its agitation would continue across the nation, irrespective of whether its senior leaders were present.
Ajinkya Shinde and Abhijeet Dipke
Post-detentions, the CJP called for daily marches to Jantar Mantar until CEC Kumar stepped down from his post.
Delhi Police had refused to grant permission for the agitation, citing inadequate notice and concerns about compliance with regulations during a protest led by the organisation in July this year.