YouTuber Dhruv Rathee, after being released following nearly 24 hours in detention, posted a video on social media Sunday narrating the chain of events leading to his detention. Calling his detention “kidnapping”, Rathee said he was taken from his home on Saturday morning without a warrant, access to a lawyer or any information about where he was being taken.The detention came amid protests on Saturday, October 10, demanding the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.“I was not arrested or detained, I was KIDNAPPED,” Rathee wrote in the caption accompanying the video. “Thank you for your support, here’s the full story.”Holding up his passport in the video, Rathee asserted that he was an Indian citizen and would always remain one. Dismissing reports in what he called “Godi media” suggesting that his citizenship was the reason behind his detention, he described the claims as false.Recounting the events of Saturday morning, Rathee said he was asleep at his home around 7 am when a large number of people in civilian clothes entered the premises. He alleged that they pushed his mother aside, prompting her to scream and alert others in the house.I was not arrested or detained, I was KIDNAPPED.Thank you for your support, here’s the full story https://t.co/gcN8cAUOmY— Dhruv Rathee (@dhruv_rathee) October 11, 2026Rathee said he was startled by the sudden arrival of the group and was not given even a minute to react. He repeatedly described the incident as a “kidnapping”, arguing that it could not be called an arrest or detention because he had neither been at a protest site nor engaged in any illegal activity.Also read | Groups of 5 will be detained: Delhi Police keep curbs in place as CJP calls fresh protest“There was no police uniform, no warrant, nothing,” he said, alleging that more than 50 people were present outside his home. “They sent goons to my house and kidnapped me.”He said he was dragged out of his bedroom and taken down the stairs, where he sustained injuries. He was then put into a jeep and taken from one police station to another, he alleged.Story continues below this adAccording to Rathee, the officials took away his phone as well as his parents’ phones, and denied him access to a lawyer or any other means of contacting people. He said he spent around 20 to 23 hours at a police station, where officials allegedly told him that he had neither been detained nor arrested.Questioning the circumstances of his detention, Rathee asked whether such treatment of a citizen who had not broken any laws but was demanding a better electoral system could happen in a democratic country.“No democratic country does this,” he said, accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of turning India into a dictatorship and describing the situation as an “unofficially declared Emergency”.Also read | CJP protest: 4 right-wing men arrested over viral video showing students and women being assaultedRathee also said he learnt that Abhijeet Dipke and other leaders of the CJP had been detained while travelling by plane. Comparing the developments to the mass detentions of political leaders during the Emergency and in North Korea, he urged people to reflect on whether this was the kind of country they wanted to live in.Story continues below this ad“What has happened to me can happen to you as well,” he warned.Rathee further claimed that he was under unofficial house arrest and was being followed by a group of 10 to 15 people wherever he went.Towards the end of the video, Rathee addressed PM Modi directly, urging the Prime Minister to reflect on history and the fate of leaders who had attempted to rule through authoritarian means. He invoked the examples of Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, warning that leaders who sought to dictate terms did not meet favourable ends.“Tanashahi mein tanashah ka ant bhi achha nahi hota hai,” he said, meaning that the end of a dictator is never good.Story continues below this adRathee also thanked climate activist Sonam Wangchuk for extending support to him and the CJP leaders.