Dhruv Rathee released after Gurugram detention over Jantar Mantar protest

YouTuber Dhruv Rathee was released from police custody in Gurugram in the early hours of Sunday, roughly eighteen hours after officers detained him at his home to stop him attending an unauthorised political demonstration in central Delhi.

A spokesperson for Gurugram police confirmed that no criminal charges were brought against Rathee. He had been held at the Sector 39 crime branch office before being allowed to leave at around 2 a.m. However, a police source said he could be detained again if he makes another attempt to reach Jantar Mantar while prohibitory orders remain in force.

Why police detained Dhruv Rathee in Gurugram

The preventive detention began around 7.30 a.m. on Saturday, when roughly thirty plainclothes officers arrived at Rathee's flat in Kendriya Vihar, Sector 56. The YouTuber, who is usually based in Germany, had recently returned to India and published a video urging people to gather in the capital for the rally.

According to a senior Gurugram police official, officers from both Delhi and Haryana visited the residence to urge Rathee not to travel into the capital, pointing out that permission for the gathering had been refused. Police decided to take him into custody after he rejected their requests to stay away.

The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which organised the demonstration, condemned the move on social media, accusing the government of using heavy-handed tactics to suppress questions over electoral integrity. The party demanded Rathee's immediate release along with that of student activists and supporters detained across the National Capital Region.

The Jantar Mantar protest and the dispute over electoral rolls

The planned demonstration was called by the CJP to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The outfit alleges widespread irregularities and voter-list manipulation during the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, particularly concerning alterations under Form 6, the standard application used for voter enrolment.

Delhi Police had rejected the organisers' formal application for the rally earlier in the week, citing security considerations and procedural defaults, and imposed restrictions under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita.

Heavy security clampdown across Delhi

Rathee's detention was part of an extensive security operation across Delhi. More than 40,000 personnel from the Delhi Police and Central Armed Police Forces were mobilised on Saturday, sealing off arterial approaches with barricades and tyre deflation strips.

Police detained thousands of demonstrators at transit hubs and border checkpoints. Several high-profile opposition politicians were also intercepted and detained while trying to reach the site, including Arvind Kejriwal, Mamata Banerjee, Pinarayi Vijayan and Manik Sarkar. Key CJP organisers, including party founder Abhijeet Dipke, Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das, were placed under preventive arrest shortly after arriving at Delhi airport.

The clampdown spilled into commercial life as well. The New Delhi Traders Association kept Connaught Place completely shuttered on Saturday out of safety concerns, an action that business groups estimated led to commercial losses running into hundreds of crores of rupees.