A group of women who were protesting against the rape of two Dalit girls in Uttar Pradesh were detained by the police on charge of creating a disturbance to the public.
The protest began around 4.30 p.m. at High Court junction. As people gathered at the bust stop at the junction, the group called ‘Sthree Koottayma’ cleared a small space near the pavement and placed placards there. The placards denounced the rape and murder of the two teenage girls and called for ‘an end to the patriarchy that assaulted the Dalit girls.’
Two women covered in plain cloth bearing slogans also drew public attention. The spot grew crowded as four more women similarly clad in plain cloth arrived at the spot around 5 p.m. and the group began raising slogans denouncing the incident. Police officers who caught wind of the protest arrived on the spot in their vehicles. After the women raised slogans for about half an hour, a couple of police women intervened to force the protesters into the police vehicles. The protesters and the police got into an argument, following which the police removed the protesters from the spot.
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Ernakulam Central police arrested the protesters on charge of disrupting public order. All the protesters were later let out on bail.