Mumbai Police have been asked to investigate actor Imran Khan’s participation in a protest in south Mumbai and determine whether he had the required permission to join the gathering. The request was made by BJP leader Kirit Somaiya after Khan was detained along with other demonstrators near Nana Chowk on Saturday.
Somaiya wrote to Mumbai Joint Commissioner of Police Manoj Kumar Sharma in a letter dated October 10, seeking an inquiry and appropriate action. In the letter, he questioned whether Khan, described in the report as a foreign national, was legally permitted to participate in a political protest and whether he had obtained the necessary authorisation.
Somaiya also called for Khan to be sent out of the country immediately. The demand has been made by Somaiya and does not represent a reported police or government order. In a post on X, he said he had asked Mumbai Police to investigate the actor’s participation in a protest supporting the ‘Cockroach Janata Party’ (CJP), alleging that no permission had been obtained.
Khan was among several people detained by Mumbai Police while protesting near Nana Chowk junction, close to Grant Road railway station and Gamdevi. The demonstrators were reportedly supporting a CJP protest in New Delhi. Police personnel placed those detained in vans brought to the area.
The police action was accompanied by extensive security arrangements around August Kranti Maidan. The ground remained closed from the morning, while barricades were installed and roads leading towards the venue were blocked. Police vans and personnel were deployed outside the gates, and members of the public were not allowed to approach the entrances.
Hundreds of personnel, including women officers and members of the Maharashtra State Security Corporation, were deployed in the area. Additional police vans were brought to Gamdevi to transport people taken into custody. A zonal deputy commissioner of police and an additional commissioner of police were also present, according to the report.
Police stopped some people travelling through the area and questioned them about their destinations. Some local residents expressed anger at being stopped and questioned during the security operation. The measures affected movement around Nana Chowk, Gamdevi and the approaches to August Kranti Maidan while the protest-related deployment was in place.
Khan said he had no specific demand and had attended as a citizen and as someone living in the city. He said he wanted to understand why freedom of movement was being restricted and why people’s voices were being suppressed.
Somaiya tagged the official BJP account and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in his social media post while seeking action. The next reported step is the police examination of Somaiya’s complaint and the circumstances surrounding Khan’s participation and detention.
