Members of the Vidyarthi Bharati Sanghatana, a student organisation, were arrested after they protested outside Amitabh Bachchan’s Juhu residence, allegedly without prior police permission, on Thursday.
According to the Juhu police, 30 students gathered outside Pratiksha around 2.30 p.m. and protested for an hour, before being dispersed by the police. The actor has been facing flak since he tweeted in support of the Metro project two days ago.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone IX) Paramjit Singh Dahiya said, “The students had told us beforehand about their intentions and we had denied them permission to protest. We have also served them a notice under the Criminal Procedure Code in this regard, despite which they turned up to protest.”
The police arrested 23 of the protesters and booked them under the Maharashtra Police Act, and granted bail on the spot.
Shreya Nikhalje, secretary, Vidyarthi Bharati Sanghatana said, “Trees planted in one’s own garden are different from trees which have been standing in the forest for hundreds of years. Mr. Bachchan is a respected celebrity with many fans. Any such statement from him can influence people in a wrong way.”
Meanwhile, rumours of the police manhandling and mistreating the students started doing the rounds on social media. These were, however, denied by both the students and the police.
