YouTuber Dhruv Rathee detained from Gurugram residence

Popular YouTuber Dhruv Rathee was detained by Delhi Police from his residence in Gurugram's Sector 56 on Saturday, October 10, amidst heightened security across the national capital ahead of a planned demonstration at Jantar Mantar. Police sources stated that officers arrived at Rathee's home early on Saturday. Officers had earlier urged him not to travel to Delhi for the protest. When he declined, he was detained. Rathee, who is based in Germany, had returned to India earlier in the week and taken part in a related CJP demonstration in Bengaluru on October 8. He was among several high-profile digital creators and political figures targeted in a sweeping security operation to enforce prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).

The unauthorized gathering was called by the youth-led Cockroach Janta Party alongside student bodies such as AISA to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Organisers pointed to alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, including large-scale deletions, changes relating to Form 6, and demanded an independent inquiry alongside changes to the process for appointing Election Commissioners. Delhi Police officially denied permission for the October 10 event, citing the late submission of intimation, public safety concerns, traffic disruptions, and alleged non-compliance with conditions during an earlier protest. In response, authorities divided the New Delhi district into 20 operational zones, set up dedicated detention centres at transit points, deployed drones to monitor movement, and imposed extensive restrictions including heavy barricading, transit checks at city borders, and heightened security around Jantar Mantar.

Mass Detentions and the Operational Crackdown

The enforcement operation resulted in widespread detentions across the National Capital Region as security forces moved to block any assembly at the protest site. Delhi Police detained around 500 people coming in different groups from various locations, alongside roughly 50 anti-social elements with criminal antecedents picked up to prevent trouble, according to one official account. Other police sources cited figures of around 150 to 200 protesters detained from various locations in the New Delhi area, while separate figures noted that more than 600 people with criminal records had been detained across Delhi's 15 districts as a preventive measure. Transit checkpoints, metro stations, and border checkpoints such as Janpath and Dhaula Kuan served as focal points for the security sweep.

Among those apprehended at the Delhi airport upon landing were CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke, spokesperson Saurav Das, and co-convenor Ashutosh Ranka. A video shared by the CJP showed the top leaders being detained from inside their flight. Separately, digital content creator Kavya Karnatac, known for ground-level documentary-style videos on the KK Create platform, was detained in the Dhaula Kuan area of Delhi. The CJP also reported the detention of its legal affairs head, Ratna Singh, along with three other lawyers. In a video released by the party, Singh sat inside a car surrounded by police personnel and described an unlawful detention on the road. We asked if they have any official notice, they did not have anything. They just said we have orders from above to detain you, Singh said, according to PTI. Singh also alleged that officers had visited her residence earlier in the morning before intercepting her team on the road.

Dissent and Official Response

The CJP strongly condemned the police actions, characterising the measures as a heavy-handed attempt to silence dissent over voter list revisions and electoral oversight. In posts on X, the group asserted that the authorities were terrified of young people who question its wrongdoings and refuse to stay silent, and demanded the immediate and unconditional release of everyone held. The group also shared a video capturing the airport detentions alongside the declaration: To save his traitor friend, the dictator has declared war against his own citizens!

Law enforcement officials maintained that the preventive detentions were strictly necessary to maintain law and order after permission for the public gathering was formally refused. Police noted that individuals had been advised in advance not to proceed toward the capital. No formal charges against the high-profile detainees were immediately detailed in public reports as security forces maintained their strict vigil across central Delhi.