Pune police detained 88 protesters near Shaniwar Wada on Saturday after they gathered for a rally against the Special Intensive Revision process and the Election Commission of India, despite the proposed march being denied permission on law-and-order grounds.
The protesters had planned to march from Shaniwar Wada to the Pune Collector’s Office on October 10. According to Pune City Police DCP PR Patil, several organisations, including CJP, had sought permission for the rally. Police rejected the request, citing concerns about maintaining public peace and managing law-and-order conditions.
Despite the denial, some protesters assembled on the road near Shaniwar Wada during the afternoon. The gathering disrupted traffic in the area, after which police detained 88 people and took them to Lashkar Police Station. The incident brought a planned protest in one of Pune’s busiest historic and central areas into direct contact with the city’s traffic and public-order systems.
DCP Patil said that the proposed protest was directed against the SIR process and the Election Commission. The Special Intensive Revision process was the stated subject of the planned rally, although the report did not provide further details about the protesters’ specific demands or the organisations’ submissions to the authorities.
At Lashkar Police Station, some of the detained youths’ parents arrived, according to the police. The process of handing over those youths to their parents was under way when the report was published. Police said further action against the remaining protesters would be taken according to law.
The episode also highlights the administrative conditions governing public demonstrations in central Pune. While the police decision cited law and order and public peace, the gathering nevertheless took place near Shaniwar Wada and affected road traffic. The available information does not specify whether any cases were registered, the legal provisions being applied, or how many protesters remained in police custody after the parents began arriving.
The immediate next step is the completion of the handover process for eligible youths to their parents and further police action against the remaining detained protesters, as stated by DCP Patil.
