Delhi police detain CJP leaders, YouTuber Dhruv Rathee ahead of Jantar Mantar protest
The CJP says its leaders' detentions are part of a planned move to prevent them from reaching the protest site.
The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) said on 10 October that Delhi Police detained its top leaders Abhijeet Dipke, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka from inside an aircraft shortly after their flight from Mumbai landed in the Indian capital.
The three leaders had travelled to Delhi to lead a protest demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over allegations of voter-list manipulation.
Security has also been stepped up at Dipke's residence in Maharashtra's Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar ahead of the protest, an official said.
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Meanwhile, Germany-based YouTuber Dhruv Rathee was detained at his residence in Kendriya Vihar society in Gurugram's Sector 56 on Saturday morning after he declined requests from Gurugram and Delhi police teams not to travel to Delhi for the demonstration, for which permission has not been granted, police said, according to the Hindustan Times.
Delhi has been placed under extensive security restrictions, with around 27,000 police and paramilitary personnel deployed. Entry and exit restrictions are in place at more than 40 metro stations, while traffic diversions have been introduced across central Delhi.
More than 250 trains had been cancelled until 2 pm, and scores of people were detained overnight, police sources said.
In a statement, the CJP condemned the detentions of its leaders, alleging they were part of a planned move to prevent them from reaching the proposed protest site.
The youth group described the action as a violation of freedom of movement and demanded the immediate and unconditional release of its three leaders.
The CJP called the proposed demonstration at Jantar Mantar against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over allegations of voter-list manipulation during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and changes relating to Form 6, used for voter registration.
On Rathee's detention, a senior official of Gurugram police said a Delhi police team reached his residence, urging him not to travel to Delhi for the protest.
"Delhi police also communicated the scenario with us, after which our teams also reached his home and urged him to comply with the law and help in maintaining peace," he added.
"However, we were forced to detain him after he turned down all the requests not to travel to Delhi. We would have preferred not to detain him in case Rathee had listened to the law enforcement agencies," the official said.
Gurugram police officials said cops have been deployed at his home and will remain stationed there till further orders.
The CJP also confirmed through a social media post that Rathee has been detained.
The outfit wrote on X: "The Dictator is TERRIFIED of young people who question its wrongdoings and refuse to stay silent!
Rathee, in his recent video posted on social media platforms including X, had asked everyone to gather for the CJP protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on Saturday.
