On a Saturday morning, Gurugram Police took Dhruv Rathee from his residence in Sector 56 ahead of a planned protest by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP). The demonstration was called to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged voter roll irregularities. Rathee’s detention occurred around 9:30 am at his home, where he was picked up by officers. According to his own account, the individuals who seized him were in plain clothes and dragged him from his bedroom down the stairs, an experience he described as resembling how a criminal is taken away.
The planned protest triggered a major security crackdown in Delhi. Authorities deployed approximately 41,000 security personnel across the city. During the operation, about 7,000 people were detained, and additional CJP members were apprehended at Delhi airport. Over 3,000 protesters, including politicians, were also detained amidst heavy security measures and metro station closures. The scale of the response underscored the authorities’ sensitivity to the demonstration.
🚨YouTuber Dhruv Rathee claimed in an Instagram video that people in civilian clothes entered his Gurugram home and took him away, alleging that he was "KIDNAPPED" rather than detained ahead of the CJP protest https://t.co/V9z3nuBe55
Rathee was released early Sunday morning, around 3 am, and handed over to his family. Following his release, he posted a video statement and social media updates in which he insisted he was not legally detained or arrested. Instead, he said he had been kidnapped by individuals in plain clothes who took him from his home. He denied having given any undertaking to Gurugram Police and maintained that he suffered injuries during the incident, pointing to wounds all over his body.
The hearing was set for 2025-05-18, indicating judicial scrutiny of the security operation and the treatment of those detained.
The Supreme Court scheduled a special Sunday hearing to review the restrictions and detentions that followed the protest call. The hearing was set for 2025-05-18, indicating judicial scrutiny of the security operation and the treatment of those detained. Rathee’s claims of kidnapping and injury entered the public discourse as the court prepared to examine the legality of the actions taken by police.
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Rathee asserted that about 20 people entered his house during the incident. He said the event allegedly occurred on October 10, and that the alleged time of the incident was 7 am on that day. He described being dragged from his bedroom, taken down the stairs, and sustaining injuries that left visible wounds. Throughout his statements, he repeatedly used the word “kidnapped” to distinguish what happened from a formal arrest or detention.
In a post on the platform X, Rathee refuted reports that he had signed an undertaking with Gurugram Police. He emphasized his status as an Indian citizen entitled to the same rights as any other individual. His insistence that he was not detained but kidnapped became a central point of his public rebuttal, shaping how supporters and critics interpreted the episode.
🚨 'Not detained, I was kidnapped': Dhruv Rathee after late-night release; says no undertaking given to Gurugram Police https://t.co/ta5XaHAGQO
The episode remains a flashpoint in the debate over protest rights and police conduct in India. While Rathee has been released and has shared his account online, the broader implications of the security deployment, the detentions of thousands, and the pending Supreme Court review continue to unfold.
