Police storm Congress office again, forcibly transport tribal students out of Mumbai

MUMBAI: A day after alleging that the police were attempting to crush their protest, the tribal students who were staying at Tilak Bhavan, the Congress state headquarters in Central Mumbai, were detained and taken out of the city on Tuesday

MUMBAI: A day after alleging that the police were attempting to crush their protest, the tribal students who were staying at Tilak Bhavan, the Congress state headquarters in Central Mumbai, were detained and taken out of the city on Tuesday. Remarkably, this was the second consecutive day that the police entered the Congress office and detained the protesters.

The police action happened on Tuesday morning, as the students were preparing to leave Tilak Bhavan. Private buses were summoned and the students were made to board them (Raju Shinde/HT Photo)

The police action followed the students’ insistence on meeting governor Jishnu Dev Varma after their application to hold an agitation at Azad Maidan was rejected. Before departing from the Congress office, the students vowed to return to Mumbai and hold a protest at Azad Maidan on October 25.

The police action happened on Tuesday morning, as the students were preparing to leave Tilak Bhavan. The police personnel guarding the premises since Monday prevented them from leaving, and shortly thereafter, private buses were summoned and the students were made to board them. The students continued to raise slogans against the state government while being transported out of Mumbai.

“The police action was extreme,” said Sagar Salunke, state president of the National Students Union of India. “They entered our office premises, detained all the students, and sent them to three different cities—Jalgaon, Nandurbar, and Nashik.” Another Congress functionary said that the students were believed to have been taken back to Nashik.

The approximately 200 to 300 students began their long march from Nashik to Mumbai on September 28 to demand improved basic facilities in tribal schools and hostels. They arrived in Mumbai late on the night of October 4. The Congress state leadership provided shelter to them after the police denied them permission to hold their agitation at Azad Maidan.

On Monday, the police forced the students out of Tilak Bhavan and took them to Kopri in Thane after moving them between several vehicles and stopping at multiple locations. On Tuesday, the police action was confined to the Congress office premises.

The tribal students are seeking an independent investigation into the deaths of students at tribal ashram schools. They have demanded a compensation of ₹1 crore each for the families of three girls who died from snakebite at an ashram school in Japtalai, Gadchiroli, and ₹50 lakh each for the injured. They have also asked for an inquiry into alleged irregularities in the distribution of grants and action against the relevant officials, besides the resignation of state tribal development minister Ashok Uike.

Commenting on the police action, Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal stated that the students had sought either permission to protest at Azad Maidan or an opportunity to meet the governor. “It has once again become clear that the BJP-Mahayuti government is anti-tribal,” he said. “It has wronged tribal students by denying them the right to protest at Azad Maidan. In a democracy, everyone has the right to protest; however, the BJP government is acting arbitrarily and trampling upon the Constitution.”

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, however, claimed that all the students’ demands had been accepted. “They celebrated in Nashik and even spoke to me on the phone,” he told reporters. “Some NSUI office-bearers are attempting to continue the protest but the actual students have realised that their demands have been met.”