Mumbai: Around 500 people turned up at August Kranti Maidan on Saturday in support of the CJP protest at Jantar Mantar following a call by Tushar Gandhi , Mahatma Gandhi’s great-grandson.
The protesters came in batches beginning at 3.30 pm and were detained by the police before it ended two hours later. A source said late Saturday, Gamdevi police registered an FIR against 12 named accused and 350 others. Police registered a case under BNS sections 223 (disobedience to an order duly promulgated by a public servant), 126 (2) (wrongful restraint) and 189 (2) (unlawful assembly), among others. DCP Ragasudha R, in a message, stated: “Around 600 protesters were detained across Mumbai City. She added around 400 protesters were detained at Nana Chowk (near August Kranti Maidan), and around 500 police personnel were deployed for bandobast. Police had detained Gandhi near National College in Bandra at 9.30 am and taken him to D N Nagar police station. He was released around 7.30 pm after nearly 10 hours in custody.
They have also been released.
Police said it was Tushar Gandhi who gave a call to gather at August Kranti Maidan. Actor Imran Khan , who turned up for the protest, Tushar Gandhi and his daughter were among those detained by the police. Among those named in the FIR were Tushar Gandhi, Shailendra Kamble, Prakash Reddy and Imran Khan. Further legal process is on. Police faced a tough time detaining protesters who almost managed to reach the road leading to the maidan in small groups over a few hours, causing traffic congestion. Some local residents who were stopped by police expressed unhappiness over being questioned. Cops were seen dragging and bundling many protesters into police vans lined up on barricaded roads before taking them to different police stations. Some protesters turned up at Hutatma Chowk. Tushar Gandhi’s daughter Kasturi Gandhi, who was detained, posted: “Detained from August Kranti. All I was carrying was Gandhi and our Constitution. The good news: police stations are so full that they had to take me to one much further away… Shiv Sena (UBT) politicians including Aaditya Thackeray, Sanjay Raut and Anil Parab, and local Congress functionary Mohsin Haider stationed themselves at D N Nagar police station, insisting on Tushar Gandhi’s release.