In pre-dawn swoop, Kanpur Police try to remove anti-CAA protesters; action leads to tension

The police said that protesters had agreed to end their agitation on Saturday after assurance by the district administration that cases against them will be withdrawn.

Situation is tense in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur after the police tried to evict anti-citizenship act protesters from Mohamed Ali Park, in Chananganj area early on Monday morning.

Heavy police presence in Kanpur’s Chananganj area on Monday. (HT Photo)

The women-led protest has been continuing there for the last 21 days.

The police said that protesters had agreed to end their agitation on Saturday after assurance by the district administration that cases against them will be withdrawn. “But only about three dozen of over a hundred left the park. Others stayed put,” said Inspector Chamanganj Ravi Srivastava.

Sources said that at around 3 am, the police forcibly removed the protesters from the park along with all those who had gathered in the last few days. But the women then sat on dharna at the road outside the park. And as the news of police action spread, nearly 500 protesters gathered at the road.

There is heavy police presence in the area.