Occupy Gateway protest called off after relocation

The student-led #OccupyGateway protest at the Gateway of India, against the recent attack on Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), was called off on Tuesday after Mumbai Police relocated protesters to Azad Maidan.

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According to protesters, approximately 200 students had stayed back at Gateway on Monday night. “On Tuesday morning, the police asked us to move our protests to Azad Maidan. We didn’t want to create any scene with the authorities so we followed directions,” said a student protester.

Deputy commissioner of police (zone 1) Sangramsinh Nishandar was present at Gateway and said protestors had to be relocated because the protest was affecting traffic movement towards the historical monument, which is a tourist attraction.

“I therefore requested them to shift to Azad Maidan, where they could continue peaceful protests,” said Nishandar.

At around 6am, the protesters were relocated to Azad Maidan where they were held for approximately five hours. They were allowed to leave only after submitting names and identification documents to Mumbai Police. Police said no protester had been either detained or booked, but they may later be charged under relevant sections of the Bombay Police Act.

The decision to call off the protest was taken at Azad Maidan. “We collectively decided that instead of continuing our protests when the police are not allowing us to step out of Azad Maidan, we’d rather focus on other upcoming protests,” said a student protester from Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B). Protesters met on Tuesday evening to chart out plans for how they may continue their protests against the attack on JNU, Jamia Milia Islamia and other universities across the country.

A spokesperson for the Joint Action Committee for Social Justice, which has helped organise a number of recent student-led protests including #OccupyGateway, said it planned to show solidarity with today’s Bharat Bandh called by trade unions.