Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi, Oct 11: YouTuber Dhruv Rathee was released by police late Saturday night but has been warned of possible fresh action if he joins the Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) protest again at Jantar Mantar, officials said on Sunday.
Rathee, a vocal critic of the Narendra Modi government who lives in Germany, had arrived in Delhi to participate in the CJP agitation demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged discrepancies in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
He was detained by police from his residence in Sector 56 of Gurugram, Haryana. While several other protesters were released on Saturday night, Rathee remained in detention until later that night.
Meanwhile, CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke and co-convenors Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka have been placed under preventive arrest, Delhi Police said on Sunday. They are scheduled to be produced before an executive magistrate later in the day.
The three leaders have been charged under Sections 126 and 170 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, relating to security for keeping the peace and arrest to prevent the commission of cognisable offences, police said.
Dipke, Das and Ranka were detained shortly after arriving at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi on Saturday. They had planned to participate in the CJP protest at Jantar Mantar against Kumar.
Hundreds of people, including former chief ministers Arvind Kejriwal, Mamata Banerjee, Pinarayi Vijayan and Manik Sarkar, were also detained during the police action and released later. The CJP criticised the detention of its leaders and vowed to continue the agitation, urging supporters to gather at Jantar Mantar on Sunday.
Former Bengaluru Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao has separately written to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs seeking verification of Rathee’s citizenship, immigration status and compliance with visa conditions.
Rao sought an examination of whether a foreign national staying in India under a particular visa or immigration status is legally permitted to participate in or address an organised political protest concerning the country’s constitutional and statutory institutions. He also called for scrutiny of whether prior permission was required and said appropriate action should follow if any violation of applicable laws or visa conditions was established.
The CJP agitation has received support from several Opposition parties, including the Aam Aadmi Party, the Trinamool Congress, Left parties and the Samajwadi Party. Several Opposition leaders participated in the protest and were among those detained before being released. The Congress, however, has kept its distance from the agitation.
The Bharatiya Janata Party criticised Saturday’s protest, describing it as a “flop show” and accusing INDIA bloc leaders of supporting the agitation to create unrest. BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad alleged that Opposition parties were using street protests to disrupt public life and said political issues should be addressed through Parliament rather than street demonstrations.