Delhi protests spark mass detentions and high-level political outcry

YouTuber Dhruv Rathee alleged that men in civilian clothes forcibly removed him from his home on Saturday, describing the event as a kidnapping. According to Rathee, he was held for over 20 hours without access to legal counsel or communication, despite authorities insisting he was neither arrested nor detained. The incident left him with physical injuries and his personal devices confiscated.

CJP activists Abhijit Dipke and Ashutosh Ranka publicly condemned Prime Minister Narendra Modi, labeling the administration a bully and demanding accountability for the heavy-handed response. The demonstrations at Jantar Mantar drew significant support from major political leaders, including Arvind Kejriwal, Pinarayi Vijayan, and Mamata Banerjee. While the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party defends the security measures as necessary to maintain order, the scale of the detentions has ignited a national debate over the state of democratic expression and the right to peaceful assembly in the capital.