Mumbai: A decentralised, largely leaderless movement coordinated through social media and word-of-mouth swept across Mumbai on the fourth day of CJP protests on Wednesday as students, parents and other citizens gathered at Shivaji Park in Dadar, Ambedkar Garden in Chembur and near IIT-B at Powai despite heavy police deployment, preventive detentions and prohibitory orders.At the time of going to press, there were unconfirmed reports that police had registered two FIRs over the protests at Shivaji Park and Chembur. Cases had earlier been filed against 800-900 people for the previous three days of protests. Around 200 organisers and participants were briefly detained at Shivaji Park and some 30-40 at Powai.Shivaji Park saw the largest gathering of over 2,000 protesters. What began as a peaceful march at 4pm soon turned into a cat-and-mouse chase after police started picking up participants. Instead of dispersing, the crowd split into smaller groups and marched through the Shivaji Park-Sena Bhavan precinct, raising slogans along different roads. The groups converged near N C Kelkar Marg and surrounded two police vans, refusing to let them leave unless some of the detainees were released. After a brief standoff, police opened the vans and released them, triggering loud cheers.Vedant Nimbalkar (21), a student who was forced into one of the police vans, said he was picked up on the way from the railway station to the protest site. He said a large number of protesters had been detained in the same manner. Actress Aayesha Khan from the movie ‘Dhurandhar’ was among those detained at Dadar, taken to Worli police station and later released.The Powai demonstrators were detained barely 10 minutes into their protest. They were taken to Powai police station and released after 30 minutes. “We told them that it is our right to protest and stand in solidarity with those protesting in Delhi. But they asked us to leave,” said Shailendra Chauhan, general secretary, Centre of Indian Trade Unions.An IIT-B student said some were stopped from going out of the institute by the campus security. “They threatened us and said authorities would be informed if we participated in the protest.”The Chembur protesters came armed with red roses and copies of the Constitution and gathered at Ambedkar Garden, braving heavy rain and strong police presence. Undeterred by police action over the previous three days, protesters raised slogans and held placards as the crowd swelled.Accountability was the common refrain across all protest sites. “We want the resignation of the education minister [Dharmendra Pradhan]. We also want compensation from govt for all students who died because of the paper leaks,” said Aryan Dedhia (19) from Sathaye College, who was at Shivaji Park. Alden D (36), a freelance writer, said the turnout reflected growing public frustration. “The young people protesting here want answers.” Sonali Katrat, an auto driver at the Chembur protest said, “I was at Shivaji Park on Tuesday and heard there would be a protest on Wednesday as well, which is why I came. She said she had been following the protests at Jantar Mantar and activist Sonam Wangchuk’s hunger strike. As a mother of two, she felt it was her “duty to fight for their future”.The brief detentions had prompted Shiv Sena (UBT) functionaries to intervene. The party’s Chembur district president, Pramod Shinde, and Yuva Sena joint secretary Jaspreet Singh Vadhera remained at the Chembur site to assist students in case of detention and ensure that the protest remained peaceful. “The students are angry and they need to vent. We must allow them that and listen to them,” Shinde said.Many protesters in Chembur said they planned to head to Shivaji Park later in the evening, as Wednesday was expected to be the last day of demonstrations before Mumbai police’s prohibitory orders banning assemblies of five or more people came into force from July 23-Aug 6.Meanwhile, Bombay Bar Association expresses its deep concern over FIRs and detentions. It said the right of citizens to assemble peacefully and to express dissent is an integral facet of the freedoms guaranteed under Article 19 of the Constitution. “Peaceful protest is not merely a constitutional right but also an essential feature of democratic governance,” it said in a statement.(Additional reporting by Aditi Menon)
