By Tabassum Barnagarwala
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on Scroll and has been republished here with permission. You can read the original article here: [Link].
Around 1,400 people have been taken into custody in protests held in the city since July 16.
On July 20, hours after students marching to Parliament were beaten up by the police in Delhi, Mumbai student Preeti Kamble headed to Shivaji Park in the heart of the island city.
Kamble, who recently passed her Class 12 exams and is preparing to join college, wanted to demonstrate her solidarity with other students. “A close friend of mine is preparing for the NEET exam,” she said, referring to the national-level medical entrance test.
The Cockroach Janta Party-led protest in Delhi is demanding that Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resign for mishandling the national NEET-UG exam for seats in medical colleges.
Kamble explained: “Her parents have put their entire savings into her education. I decided to show up at the protest site so I could do my bit to ensure she does not face what other NEET students did.”
But Kamble was detained by the police even before she could reach the protest site or shout any slogans.
She was taken to the Kalachowkie police station, in the south-eastern part of the city. “They took my name, phone number and address and let me go,” Kamble said.
But the police action did not end there. The next day, Kamble got a call from her local police station in Amboli in northern Mumbai to come and collect a notice issued against her under sections 37 and 135 of the Maharashtra Police Act that relate to disobeying prohibitory orders and section 189 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita that relates to unlawful assembly.
She visited Amboli police station on Tuesday and waited for two-and-a-half hours before the police allowed her to leave.
On Wednesday, three police officials showed up at her door. “Only one of them was dressed in uniform,” Kamble said. “They insisted that I again go to the police station with them.”
She said the police would have used physical force had her mother not stepped in.
Kamble is not alone. Several young protestors have alleged that the Mumbai Police have been using intimidatory tactics to prevent them from attending protests in support of the youth agitation in Delhi that has rattled the Narendra Modi government.
According to a statement by the Mumbai police on Wednesday, 1,400 people have been taken into custody in the city for taking part in various protests since July 16.
Hundreds were detained and then let go. Many of those then were pressured not to take part in subsequent protests, they told Scroll. Some got police notices on WhatsApp, listing sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Some received calls to visit their local police stations. Some…
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