Mumbai Police detained Tushar Gandhi, president of Hum Bharat Ke Log, and several other organisers on October 10 ahead of an anti-CEC protest planned at August Kranti Maidan, according to a report by The Hindu. Gandhi was picked up at the National College intersection and taken to DN Nagar police station after initially being taken to Santa Cruz police station, the organisers said.
The protest in Mumbai was planned in support of a demonstration by the Cockroach Janata Party at Jantar Mantar in Delhi. Gandhi and other organisers said the Mumbai gathering would continue despite the detentions and appealed to participants to reach August Kranti Maidan during the afternoon.
“We will continue our protest despite detention. We appeal to everyone to reach August Kranti Maidan this afternoon,” Gandhi and the organisers said, according to the report. Gandhi also said he was in custody at DN Nagar police station and that the police might take his phone.
The Hindu reported that Feroze Mithoborewala and a few other leaders were also allegedly detained. The account of the detentions was attributed to the organisers; the report did not include a police statement explaining the grounds for the action.
The detentions took place amid heightened police vigilance across Maharashtra. Police in Mumbai and other parts of the State were tracking people who intended to travel to Delhi for the demonstration. Mumbai Police detained more than 200 people on October 9 to stop them from leaving for the national capital, according to the report.
The developments place public assembly and movement restrictions at the centre of the day’s policing activity in Mumbai. August Kranti Maidan, the proposed venue, is a significant public gathering space in the city, and any restriction or change to the planned protest could affect access, crowd management and the deployment of police personnel in the surrounding area.
Gandhi’s detention was reported after he was taken to DN Nagar police station. Organisers continued to call on supporters to attend the Mumbai protest, although the material available in the report does not establish whether the gathering proceeded as planned or whether the police issued a formal order restricting it.
The immediate next steps are the organisers’ proposed continuation of the protest at August Kranti Maidan and any formal clarification from Mumbai Police on the detentions, the reported action against people travelling to Delhi and the conditions governing the planned assembly.
