Popular YouTuber Dhruv Rathee who recently joined the agitations against Gyanesh Kumar claimed to have been ‘unofficially’ put under house arrest and is being threatened to face detention if he participated in the protests.
Rathee as per media reports said he wanted to join the INDIA bloc’s planned march to the Supreme Court today to demand Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation over SIR irregularities.
“I want to join the protest but they (police) have stationed around 50 people outside my house. Wherever I go, they follow me and threaten me, saying that if I go anywhere near a protest, they would pick me up immediately again,” he said.
The influencer also dismissed questions about a possible visa investigation, saying, “I am an Indian citizen, there is no visa issue for me.”
He was detained by Delhi Police ahead of the Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) protest at Jantar Mantar on Saturday. He has described the incident as “kidnapping.”
In a video released on Sunday, he alleged that people in plain clothes took him from his residence in Gurugram and moved him between police stations. He further claimed that he was denied access to his phone and was not allowed to contact his lawyer for around 22-23 hours.
In a renewed approach today, Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) activists visited the Parliament Street police station to seek a fresh date for their protests, giving officials 24 hours to reply. Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka visited the police station to seek the dates.
Interacting with the media while heading to the police station, “We are going to ask Delhi Police for a date to hold a protest at Jantar Mantar. We hope the police will give us a date. If they do not, we will make another call within 24 hours…”Ranka said.
“Peaceful protest is a right, a constitutional right, and people are already exercising it. People will protest peacefully. The police always complain that~them 10 days in advance,” Cockroach Janta Party chief spokesperson Saurav Das said.