Around 500 activists of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) were detained by the police on Sunday when they started a morcha against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). The protest was planned from BPCL in Uran to Wahal, and they were detained around 2 p.m. by the Uran and the Nhava Sheva police. The agitation was part of their four-day protest from Uran to Chaitya Bhoomi in Dadar.
“We were detained citing that we had no permission. We told them to either detain us legally and arrest under relevant sections or let us go. We told them that with or without permission we would continue our march,” Prasad Subramanium, spokesperson of DYFI, said.
Hesaid the demonstration was to voice their concerns over the CAA and NRC, and highlighting issues related to the youth. “We need jobs. We are also against privatisation of PSUs. Among the protesters was a group from Nashik whose houses have not been built because they haven’t yet received money under the PMAY.”
Senior police inspector Jagdish Kulkarni from Uran police station said, “They were detained as they had no permission. They had applied for permission but it was rejected due to security issues as they intended to start the protest at BPCL. After four hours, we let them off with a warning.”
The protest is planned to continue from Wahal to Sanpada on Monday, Sanpada to Ghatkopar on Tuesday, and Ghatkopar to Dadar on Wednesday.
