‘Mother was pushed, I wasn’t allowed to put on slippers’: Dhruv Rathee on detention

Dhruv Rathee (Image Credit: X)

NEW DELHI: YouTuber Dhruv Rathee has alleged that he was forcibly taken from his bedroom, assaulted and held for nearly 23 hours without access to a lawyer or phone, describing his detention on October 10 as an act of “kidnapping” rather than a lawful police action.In a video posted on X, Rathee claimed that he had sustained injuries across his body and was not even allowed to put on his slippers before being taken away.“They kept me confined for 22-23 hours, without allowing me to use my phone or speak to a lawyer. They kept saying it was neither an arrest nor a detention and that I would be released. But I would call it kidnapping,” Rathee said, questioning the circumstances in which he was taken into custody.His allegations come against the backdrop of protests in Delhi demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over concerns surrounding voting rights and the electoral process. The demonstrations on Saturday were accompanied by extensive security arrangements, barricading, traffic restrictions and detentions of protesters.

Recounting the events of Saturday morning, Rathee claimed that around 20 people, including police personnel and men in plain clothes, entered his house at approximately 7 am while he was asleep.

His mother, who had opened the door, was allegedly pushed aside as the group entered and spread across the house before making their way to his bedroom.Rathee said he was at home with his parents when the incident occurred. He claimed that more than 50 personnel were stationed outside the residence, although he learnt of their presence only later.“Before I could even understand what was happening, they dragged me out of my bedroom.

I was taken down the stairs like a criminal. I sustained injuries across my body, and they did not even give me time to put on my slippers,” he alleged.He further claimed that his phone and those of his parents were immediately seized, preventing them from recording the incident. Rathee said he was subsequently taken in a police vehicle to different police stations.Rathee also rejected claims circulating about his citizenship, asserting that he held an Indian passport and enjoyed the same rights as any other Indian citizen.

He accused sections of the media of spreading misinformation about his nationality to justify his detention. He also claimed that false information was being circulated that he had given an undertaking not to participate in any further protests.Questioning the procedure followed, Rathee argued that being detained during a demonstration was different from being forcibly removed from one's home before participating in a protest.“If I had gone to a protest and the police detained me there, that would have been a different matter. If an officer had come in uniform, identified himself, explained the legal provisions and asked me to accompany him to a police station, I would have gone willingly. But nothing of that sort happened,” he said.Rathee also alleged that his parents were physically mistreated during the operation.Calling the incident an attack on democratic rights, he accused the central government of creating what he described as an “unofficial Emergency”.Meanwhile, members of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) also took to social media following their release from detention on Sunday, criticising the government and reiterating their demand for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation.In a post on X, CJP founder and national convenor Abhijeet Dipke wrote, “Modi, as PM, is an embarrassment to India. Never has this country seen a bigger coward and bully”.CJP co-convenor Ashutosh Ranka wrote, “Gyanesh Kumar is a traitor. He will have to resign. I am even willing to spend my entire life in jail to get such traitors removed”.