Mumbai Police detained Tushar Gandhi and associates on Saturday as they travelled to August Kranti Maidan for a proposed protest in support of the Cockroach Janata Party’s demonstration at Jantar Mantar in Delhi. Police said permission had not been granted for the gathering at the historic ground and that Gandhi had been detained, not arrested.
Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi’s great-grandson and president of Hum Bharat Ke Log, was picked up from Bandra and taken to DN Nagar police station, according to a police official. Gandhi had called for a 3.30 pm gathering at August Kranti Maidan, the site from which the Quit India movement was launched in 1942.
On X, Gandhi said he had been arrested and taken to an unknown location. The police denied that he had been arrested and described the action as detention. Guddi S L, vice-president of the organisation, was also picked up from Andheri and taken to MIDC police station, police confirmed.
Gandhi had posted an appeal on Friday asking Mumbaikars to join the gathering in solidarity with the CJP protest in Delhi. The CJP has been demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The Gamdevi Police said no application seeking permission for the Mumbai protest had been received and that no permission had been issued. A senior police official said the force could not grant permission for a protest at August Kranti Maidan because of a Supreme Court ruling and because the land belongs to the Archaeological Survey of India.
“Due to a Supreme Court ruling, the Mumbai police cannot grant permission to hold a protest at August Kranti Maidan as the land belongs to the Archaeological Survey of India. No one had approached us in the first instance,” the official said on Friday.
Guddi disputed the police account, saying she had emailed the police to seek permission because Gandhi was not in Mumbai but had received no response. She also said Gandhi had been called by the police and asked about his location, and that officers had indicated he could be detained.
The detentions took place amid heightened police vigilance across Maharashtra ahead of the Jantar Mantar protest in Delhi. Police in Mumbai and other parts of the state had been tracking people suspected of travelling to the capital. Mumbai Police detained more than 200 people on Friday to prevent them from leaving for Delhi, according to the report.
The immediate dispute centres on whether permission was sought and whether the site could legally host the proposed gathering. The police have said the restrictions arise from the ground’s ownership and the Supreme Court ruling. The organisers have said they attempted to contact the police before the event. No further action or release details were provided in the report.
