A student activist is detained by police near Chaityabhoomi at Shivaji Park on Sunday during a protest demanding justice for Sahil Wakode, an IIT Bombay student who died by suicide on September 18
Mumbai: Two separate student-led protests in Dadar were disrupted by police on Sunday, with over 140 students and activists detained at Shivaji Park and Chaityabhoomi. At Shivaji Park, police detained around 120 tribal students who had gathered to demand the resignation of Maharashtra tribal development minister Ashok Uike over deteriorating conditions in residential schools and the alleged deaths of 584 students. The protesters, who had been agitating since Aug, were returning to Mumbai after an earlier demonstration on Oct 5 ended with police detaining them and sending them back to their hometowns in Nashik, Nandurbar and Jalgaon. Nearby, police detained 20 to 25 Ambedkarite activists and students who had assembled at Chaityabhoomi for a candlelight vigil in memory of Sahil Wakode, an IIT-Bombay student whose death by suicide in Sept has triggered allegations of caste discrimination. Despite the restrictions, around 40 to 50 people gathered later to pay tribute.
Sahil Parsekar, a member of Citizens for Justice and Peace, said the police action was particularly troubling given Chaityabhoomi’s significance to the Ambedkarite movement. Parsekar of CJP said, “That the police chose to detain and pick up students who had come to this very place for a candlelight march in memory of Sahil, who faced caste discrimination, raises serious questions. Heavy police deployment prevented Sunday’s protest from taking place. Police, who had denied permission for the gathering, detained participants carrying candles and placards, taking them to police stations in Bandra, Worli and Tardeo. Advocate Siddharth Ingle questioned why peaceful mourners were being detained. When students come together to mourn, remember, and demand justice, the response cannot be intimidation and detention.”
Students said they would continue their agitation at Azad Maidan on Monday.