A police action demand has followed the detention of actor Imran Khan during a protest near August Kranti Maidan in South Mumbai, after BJP leader Kirit Somaiya questioned whether the foreign national had permission to participate in a political demonstration.
Somaiya wrote to Mumbai Joint Commissioner of Police Manoj Kumar Sharma seeking an investigation and appropriate action. In a post on X, he said he had asked Mumbai Police to examine Khan’s participation in what he described as a protest supporting the ‘Cockroach Janata Party’ (CJP), and questioned whether the actor had obtained the necessary permission.
The letter, dated October 10, also asked whether Khan could legally take part in the demonstration. Somaiya separately demanded that the actor be sent out of the country immediately. These are demands made by Somaiya; the report does not establish that any deportation or other action has been ordered by the police or immigration authorities.
Khan was among several people detained by Mumbai Police on Saturday while protesters gathered near Nana Chowk in support of a CJP demonstration in New Delhi. Police detained the group near the Nana Chowk junction, close to Grant Road railway station and Gamdevi, and took them away in police vans.
Khan said he was present as a citizen and as someone living in the city. “I have no demand. I have come here as a citizen, as a person living in this city. I have come to see why restrictions are being imposed on freedom of movement and why people’s voices are being suppressed. That is why I am here,” he said, according to the report.
The police response extended beyond the detention of protesters. August Kranti Maidan remained closed from the morning, with barricades placed around the grounds and roads leading to the venue shut. Police vans and personnel were positioned outside the gates, while members of the public were not allowed to approach the entrance.
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 those detained. Police also stopped people travelling through the locality and asked them about their destinations, a measure that reportedly angered some residents.
Senior officers, including the zonal deputy commissioner of police and an additional commissioner of police, were present at the site. Somaiya tagged the BJP’s official account and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in his post seeking action.
The immediate issues now before the authorities are whether the detained protesters will face any formal charges, whether Khan required specific permission to participate, and what action, if any, Mumbai Police will take on Somaiya’s written complaint. The report does not include a response from Mumbai Police or the immigration authorities to the allegations and demands.
