Thousands gather at Shivaji Park in support of CJP after Dadar detentions

About a thousand people gathered at Shivaji Park on Tuesday to protest in support of the Cockroach Janta Party CJP after hundreds were detained on Monday for protesting without permission at Chaityabhumi in Dadar WestProtest without permission againWhile the protest on Tuesday was also one without permission from the authorities it became a success in just half an hour The protest was organised by young adults via WhatsApp and Instagram where details regarding the protest site and timings were shared20 more detainedThe police detain Shivaji Park protesters on Tuesday as the crowd began to swell PICATUL KAMBLEPolice personnel were stationed at Shivaji Park since noon and were then joined by the Deputy Commissioner of Police Zone 3 Mahendra Pandit at 430 pm This reporter was at Shivaji Park since 330 pm where only a few police personnel were seen However in just an hour as the protestors showed up the police detained about 20 peopleFIRs against protestersOne of the protesters detained on Monday Sandhya Panaskar said ldquoOn Monday we werenrsquot told anything about a Zero FIR or a notice Some detainees who were held at other police stations got notices I didnrsquot receive one Only one lady who was held at Worli police station got one Many of them got their notices at 3 am or 4 am on Tuesday and were asked to come to the respective police station at 10 am to sign their names inrdquoNo major unrest in South ZoneHeavy police deployment could be seen at CSMT railway Metro stations the BMC headquarters Azad Maidan Vidhan Bhavan and Nariman Point ldquoNo unrest yetrdquo said an officer around 230 pm on Tuesday ldquoNo unrest in South Zonerdquo said another in the evening ldquoSecurity arrangements are deterring peoplerdquo said a student who couldnrsquot protest due to the lack of a crowd at Nariman Point A Mumbai Police official said in the evening that no major unrest was reported Attempts were made to contact Mumbai Police spokesperson Raj Tilak Roshan to verify this but he didnrsquot respond midday sent a query regarding arrangements and the number of detentions to Joint CP Law amp Order Manoj Kumar Sharma but didnrsquot receive a responseMNS chiefrsquos family steps inWhile protesters who were in front of the Meenatai Thackeray statue were detained there was commotion among a group in front of lsquoShivtirthrsquo the residence of MNS chief Raj Thackeray A witness Duane Fernandes said ldquoThe crowd grew when police were trying to detain a lady wearing a hijab As the police pulled her into the van her hijab came off but they still didnrsquot stop This enraged all the kids present and they started chanting and protesting right in front of the Thackeray houserdquo As the commotion grew with the police detaining a few others Sharmila Thackeray and her son Amit Thackeray came out This led to the police releasing those detainedDemand to release allAfter those detained outside Shivtirth were released the protestors began demanding that their coprotesters who had been detained be released immediately While at first the police were apprehensive of the demand the detainees were let out by 6 pmBrief gathering at DongriAn officer from Dongri policelsquoPeople gathered at Charnal bus stop Dongri Sandhurst Road around 5 pm on Tuesday According to Dongri police officials intervened and dispersed the crowd within 10 minutes of a gathering of around 50 people being reported ldquoIt wasnrsquot a student protest It was a memorial ceremony arranged by local political leaders without permissionrsquoSharif Deshmukh 60 a Vidhan Sabha coordinator for Shiv Sena UBT who organised the event saidlsquoWe wanted to simply give our respect to the NEET students who died by suicide We had approached the local police station for permission but were denied We were very affected by what happened with the students and couldnrsquot hold back This is a democracy Canrsquot citizens even pay homage to students Around 100 of us including women and students had gathered to pay our respects The police stopped our gathering like we were some criminalsrsquoPolice intervene to make people leave the spotPICSAYYED SAMEER ABEDIThe student who couldnrsquot protestMisti Moon 21lsquoI recently returned from the US after I completed my undergrad but I deeply believe in the concerns of Indian students about accountability and I support the cause I visited both Nariman Point and Shivaji Park to stand in solidarity with fellow students but the sheer number of police personnel with batons and barricades stopped me from participatingrsquolsquoGovt wonrsquot listenrsquoQaid Zoher 51 law student founder and chairman of Alert Citizens Group and Byculla residentlsquoI deeply resonate with the key problem that the government isnrsquot ready to listen and reason Around eight of us attended the protest on both days at Shivaji Park We arenrsquot supporting any political group we purely support the studentsrsquo concerns I had also attended the CJP protest at Azaad Maidan On Tuesday the students were even more vocal and there were as many as on Monday if not more They had come prepared to raise their voice despite knowing they might be detained by the police I didnrsquot find that the police presence at Shivaji Park was any more than it was on MondayrsquolsquoDidnrsquot like the sightrsquoSharmila ThackeraylsquoI heard everything and came down to see the kids being shoved into the vans I didnrsquot like the sight of that hence I stepped up to the officers and told them to detain me as well if they were detaining the kidsrsquoSad state of affairsA protester who was detainedlsquoThe only sad thing I felt was when the lady in hijab was being taken away Everyone was trying to run away from the scene and the same happened with me If Sharmilaji hadnrsquot come I wouldrsquove been taken away no doubtrsquo