Rohtak Zila Parishad member Jaidev Dagar was detained by the local police on Monday to prevent him from participating in a Parliament march in Delhi organised by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) to press the Centre for its demands.

Dagar was detained by the Shivaji Colony police from the Zila Parishad office in the city and remained in police custody till the evening. A video showing police personnel escorting Dagar into a police vehicle also went viral on social media.

This was not the first time Dagar had been stopped from participating in a CJP protest in Delhi. He was earlier prevented from joining the party’s protest at Jantar Mantar on June 6 against paper leaks and other issues concerning the youth.

“I was detained by the Shivaji Colony police while I was at the Zila Parishad office, working on the redressal of public grievances. The police cannot use force against an elected public representative without any wrongdoing on his part. I was released at 5 pm,” Dagar told The Tribune.

Condemning the police action, he termed it an act of “dictatorship” by the government. He alleged that the government was using the police to suppress the voice of the youth.

“Since the government is scared, it is using the administration to stop us. The authorities are misusing their power. Attempts are being made to silence the voice of the youth, but their voice cannot be suppressed,” Dagar said.

He alleged that the police action was “completely dictatorial” and said they wanted to travel to Delhi peacefully to raise public issues.

“The administration has crossed all limits by detaining me. Such actions cannot stop us from raising our voice. I will meet the Rohtak SP to register my protest against such illegal detention,” Dagar added.