Kanpur: Police deployed a heavy force outside the Kakadev residence of Aryanagar MLA Amitabh Bajpai on Thursday to prevent his proposed 24-hour satyagraha at the Gandhi statue in Phoolbagh in support of students over the alleged NEET paper leak and the alleged police excesses against student protesters in Delhi.Despite the police presence, Bajpai slipped out of his residence around 9 am and reached Chandra Shekhar Azad University of Agriculture and Technology (CSA), where he paid floral tributes to freedom fighter Chandrashekhar Azad on his birth anniversary. Police later traced his location and escorted him back to his residence.Around noon, Bajpai again came out of his residence to proceed towards Phoolbagh. Police attempted to stop him, triggering a heated exchange. The MLA crossed the police barricades and reached the intersection, where police personnel stopped him after a brief scuffle involving pushing and arguments.He was then brought back to his residence, where he began the satyagraha along with party leaders and supporters. A large number of workers gathered at the residence and joined the protest.Bajpai said despite repeated attempts by the police to stop the protest, the fight for the rights, dignity and justice of students would continue.Communist Party of India (Marxist) Polit Bureau member and former Lok Sabha MP Subhashini Ali, who joined the protest, alleged that the govt was suppressing democratic dissent. She demanded justice for students and sought strict action against police personnel allegedly involved in the lathi-charge on student protesters in Delhi.
