Anti-CAA stir: 11 detained across city, allege protesters

Eleven people were detained by the police in different parts of the city on Monday for participating in protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and

Eleven people were detained by the police in different parts of the city on Monday for participating in protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC) and National Population Register (NPR). Nagpada Police and Shivaji Nagar Police have denied any protester was detained. All protesters were released later on Monday.

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At 9.30am on Monday, police picked up five women and two men from Ambedkar Ground at Shivaji Nagar, in Deonar, where around 30 people were protesting against the CAA, NRC and NPR. The protesters were taken to Shivaji Nagar police station. Two protesters were allegedly manhandled by the police, but the police have denied the allegation. Lawyer and activist Trisha Shetty wrote on social media that she had tried to lodge complaints on behalf of the protesters at two police stations, but the police refused to let her do so.

In Mumbai Central, police detained four protesters from the site at Morland Road that has been dubbed Mumbai Bagh, on Monday morning. Police had tried to disperse the protest on Saturday, but failed to do so. Shetty, who came to Nagpada police station in her capacity as legal counsel to the Mumbai Bagh protesters, was also held. Everyone was released after approximately three hours on condition that they sign a form under section 149 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), which is an undertaking to “comply with any reasonable direction given by a magistrate or a police officer”. “The way police are behaving with protesters is not acceptable. We are law-abiding citizens and haven’t done anything wrong,” said Shetty.

Senior police inspector Shalini Sharma, Nagpada police station, denied the protesters had been detained. “We had called the protesters to the police station and served them notice under section 149 of the CrPC. We offered them tea and left them after serving the notice. They were not detained.”

Ali Bhojani, a volunteer at Mumbai Bagh and one of the detainees, said the police had asked him and other protesters to go to the police station to verify their home addresses.

On Monday afternoon, around 16 volunteers from Mumbai Bagh met home minister Anil Deshmukh. “We have been assured that NRC and NPR won’t be implemented in the state and that no action will be taken against those detained, and also that the issue will be raised in the upcoming legislative session. But unless there is a written confirmation, Mumbai Bagh will go on,” said Bhojani. Later, Deshmukh told the media, “The protestors don’t have the permission to protest on streets, so CrPC 149 has been levied on some of them. After discussions, they were positive to withdraw the stir in the coming days.”