Activists gather for ‘peaceful protest’, turned away by cops

LUCKNOW: The district administration and the police on Monday turned away protesters who wanted to observe a ‘peaceful fast’ at Gandhi Pratima, GPO for communal

LUCKNOW: The district administration and the police on Monday turned away protesters who wanted to observe a ‘peaceful fast’ at Gandhi Pratima, GPO for communal harmony. The demonstrators accused the police of manhandling them and being insensitive towards them.

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On the call of citizen welfare groups, a few protestors had gathered at the spot to observe a fast from 10am to 5pm.

“We reached around 10am, but the cops held us as if we were criminals. Some policemen also pushed a few of our members into an auto rickshaw, asking us to leave the site,” said Roop Rekha Verma, social activist who reached Gandhi Pratima to observe fast.

“It was a collective call from various welfare organisations, as on this very day Mahatma Gandhi himself had observed fast for communal harmony. We too thought of observing fast on this day. But the police and administration didn’t allow us despite we having informed the SSP and the DM office,” she added.

She accused the police of manhandling the activists and being insensitive towards them.

“Despite making it clear that it was not a demonstration against the central or the state government, they didn’t let us assemble there. We also tried to convince them that we won’t be shouting any slogans, and just be singing bhajans. But they behaved in an aggressive manner,” she alleged.

Besides Verma, professors and other social activists including Amiq Jamei, Ramesh Dixit, Vandana Mishra, Shahwez Waris and Rakesh were part of the ‘peaceful protest’.

Abhay Mishra, circle officer, Hazratganj said: “The police did not misbehave with any protestor. They were simply asked not to hold protest in the prohibited zone. We also told them that Section 144 was in place, hence they couldn’t hold any demonstration.”