Delhi police denies permission for programme on Kashmir

The police said that a local input was received that an anonymous group was planning to organise a public meeting on Kashmir at 3pm on Wednesday at Gandhi Peace Foundation

A public meeting on Kashmir to be held at the Gandhi Peace Foundation on Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg in central Delhi on Wednesday was cancelled after Delhi Police denied permission citing inputs that the event could lead to a law-and-order situation.

The station house officer of IP Estate police station said that there is “discreet input” of disturbance in law and order situation because of the public meeting. (HT Photo)

The police said that a local input was received that an anonymous group was planning to organise a public meeting on ‘Media Blackout in Kashmir’ at 3pm on Wednesday at Gandhi Peace Foundation.

The station house officer of IP Estate police station, Sanjay Kumar, in a letter to Gandhi Peace Foundation, said that efforts were made to get the details of members of the group, but it could not be verified. “There is discreet input of disturbance in law and order situation in view of organising this above public meeting. In view of the above, you are requested to cancel the booking and intimation may kindly be sent to undersigned at the earliest,” the letter said. HT has seen a copy of the letter.

According to the officials of Gandhi Peace Foundation, the event titled ‘Media Blackout and State Repression in Kashmir’ was scheduled to be held at 2pm at the venue and the speakers at the event included Delhi University teacher Nandita Narain, retired high court judge Justice Hussain Masoodi, CPI (M) leader MY Tarigami, filmmaker Sanjay Kak and Mir Shahid Saleem, the chairman of United Peace Alliance.

Kumar Prashant of the Gandhi Peace Foundation said that they immediately complied the police instructions and cancelled the programme.

Campaign Against State Repression, a coalition of social and political organisations, that organised the event condemned the police action. “The reason cited for cancelling the event was that the intelligence input suggested that the program was being organized by the “anonymous groups” and that the information of the participants and organisers couldn’t be ascertained by the police. It is ridiculous to even claim that the Delhi Police and its so-called intelligence unit couldn’t ascertain the identity of our panelists consisting of renowned documentary filmmaker, retired high court judge, journalists, academicians and civil rights activists,” the group reacted in a statement on Wednesday.

Nandita Narain, who teaches at St Stephen’s College, called the cancellation outrageous. “The speakers were informed about the cancellation just before the start of the programme. It was not a protest, but a public meeting. And, the Delhi police had nothing to do with it,” she said.

A Delhi Police spokesperson said that whenever the police get some adverse intelligence input, permission is denied. “The district police must have some discreet information on which basis they denied the permission,” the spokesperson said.