Indian YouTuber Dhruv Rathee was detained by Delhi Police at his residence in Gurugram on Saturday morning, hours before a planned protest by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) at Jantar Mantar in the national capital, police sources said.

Around 50 Delhi Police personnel arrived at Rathee’s home in Sector 56 of Gurugram and took him into custody, according to the sources. His detention came amid heightened security across Delhi ahead of the demonstration against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

The CJP responded sharply, demanding Rathee’s “immediate release”.

Rathee had announced his participation in the protest in a video posted on X on Friday evening. A vocal critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, he returned to India from Germany earlier this week and took part in a CJP demonstration in Bengaluru on October 8.

According to NDTV, Delhi Police had denied permission for the planned protest earlier this week, citing security concerns and procedural requirements. Authorities have since increased preventive detentions and deployed personnel at key locations to stop protesters from reaching Jantar Mantar.

The security measures come as the CJP seeks to mobilise supporters for a large-scale demonstration in the heart of Delhi. More than 400 people were detained overnight, while hundreds of trains were cancelled and dozens of metro stations were shut ahead of the protest, according to reports.

The Centre has deployed more than 20,000 personnel from Delhi Police and the Central Armed Police Forces to maintain law and order during the demonstration.

Rathee is among India’s most widely followed digital content creators, with 33 million subscribers on YouTube, 19.2 million followers on Instagram and 3.3 million followers on X.

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