CAA protest called off: Organiser alleges detention, cops deny

A gathering to form a human chain in protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) was called off on Monday after organisers were allegedly detained when they approached Marine Lines police station for permission to hold the event at Nariman Point.

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The protest was organised by the group Young India against CAA-NRC-NPR, made up of college students.

One of the organisers, Vatya Raina, a student of Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), said they had approached Marine Lines police station seeking permission for the protest on Monday afternoon. “They made us spend a lot of time at the police station and then picked us up from there and brought us to Azad Maidan. We were told not to protest when we left,” said Vatya.

However, when contacted, Marine Lines police officers denied any such incident.

“They were not detained, they were simply relocated. If they were detained, they might have been kept in the police station, but they were not. They were released at Azad Maidan,” said a senior officer, on condition of anonymity.

‘Protest permissions will be given’

Home minister Anil Deshmukh said that while around 1,100 agitations against the CAA and National Register of Citizens (NRC) took place in the state, they were all held in a peaceful manner. “The bandh called by Prakash Ambedkar, president of Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) to oppose CAA will be given permission, but it should be held without any law and order problem. Large agitations against the law is indicative of the sentiments of the people. The state government will take a decision on its implementation in accordance with the Supreme Court’s order,” Deshmukh said.