The day of the protest began early for YouTuber Dhruv Rathee, and not by choice. Delhi Police detained him from his home in Gurugram on Saturday morning, just hours before the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) was due to hold a demonstration at Jantar Mantar in Delhi.

What happened on Saturday morning

According to The Week, around 50 police personnel arrived at Rathee’s residence in Sector 56 and took him into custody at about 7:48 am. PTI, citing police sources, reported that Delhi Police detained him from the same address. He was due to take part in the protest in the capital later in the day.

The reports we have seen do not say where they took him, whether they released him, or whether they took any formal action. We will update this article as soon as we know more.

Why the protest matters

The CJP called the protest at Jantar Mantar against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, demanding his resignation. It is part of the wider Opposition campaign against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, which has already led to marches and detentions in Delhi and Patna this week.

Delhi Police had denied permission for the event, citing security concerns and procedural requirements. Barricades went up at Jantar Mantar, and Delhi traffic curbs were in place from 6 am.

A wider police sweep

Rathee was not the only person stopped. PTI reports that police deployed personnel at key locations across the capital and carried out preventive detentions to keep protesters from reaching the site. By the time of the report, police had detained about 150 protesters from various parts of the New Delhi area. The Week adds that Delhi Police teams were told to detain anyone trying to stage a protest, regardless of where they were.

From Bengaluru to Gurugram in two days

The detention comes just two days after Rathee spoke at a protest in Bengaluru on Thursday, 8 October, where demonstrators also demanded the CEC’s resignation. According to your source, Rathee had arrived in India from Germany earlier this week. We have not independently confirmed the travel details.

The bigger argument

The protests sit at the centre of a heated political argument. The Opposition and the groups backing it allege irregularities in the SIR and want Kumar to step down, while the Election Commission and its supporters say the exercise is lawful. Earlier this week, 42 former judges signed an open letter defending the Commission and warning against attacks on constitutional bodies. Detentions like Saturday’s are likely to feed both sides of that debate: critics will call them heavy-handed, while the authorities will point to the denied permission and security concerns.

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