The sit-in protest by women against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC), dubbed `Mumbai Bagh’, that began on January 26 intensified through the day on Thursday, with some protestors claiming police presence was stepped up in the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday at the Morland Road area occupied by the protestors.
Protesters claimed that police vans were sent to the area at night, following which more women came to the spot, with the police well outnumbered by protestors as the crowd swelled.
“The police wanted to detain us. However, there were hundreds of us. Hence they couldn’t do anything. With time, more people gathered at the venue and hence the police were outnumbered,” claimed Shaziya Ali, an activist who is part of the protest.
“We did not try to forcibly remove any women protestors from the area at night, nor through the day on Thursday. All such claims are nothing but rumours,” said Shalini Sharma, senior police inspector, Nagpada police station.
The protestors, however, said their protest would continue indefinitely till their demands were met. “Our protests won’t stop unless the government takes a stand on the issue,” said Fatima Shaikh, who has been travelling from Kurla to Morland Road regularly for the protest.
On Thursday afternoon, Ashish Raje, a senior photojournalist working for a tabloid in the city, was assaulted by the police while he was entering the Morland Road area to cover the protest. Raje said two policemen slapped and hit him with a stick repeatedly, causing injuries to his thigh.
“I was entering the protest site when the police asked for my ID at the gate. Since there was a large crowd of women, I crossed the barricade a little and said I would show my ID and camera. A police officer pulled me out from behind. He did not listen to me and started arguing with me and verbally abused me,” said Raje.
“One of them slapped me and another hit me with a stick 4-5 times on my thigh. The police also took hold of the camera of another photojournalist to click snaps of the incident, while another officer came running and threatened to book me in a case. The two fled the scene when a senior police officer arrived as another officer claimed that I was kicking the cops,” Raje said.
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader, Naseem Siddiqui, who was one of the organisers, washed his hands off the protest on Thursday as the crowd grew larger.
“I am no longer responsible for the protests. I have urged our people to vacate the area as it is causing inconvenience to the locals. Now if the police takes any action, it’s the protesters’ responsibility,” Shaikh said at a press conference at a nearby hotel.
Activist Feroze Mithiborewala, who has been spearheading the protest, said that unless the state government cleared its standpoint, the protesters would not budge an inch from the venue.
“Shiv Sena has supported the CAA, their standpoint on the NRC is not yet clear and unless they take a clear stand on imposition of the contentious acts, the protests wont stop,” said Mithiborewala.
“The protesting women have shown what democracy is. No one has the right to force them out of this place. In a democracy one can’t suppress those who raise their voices,” said Tushar Gandhi, great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, who was present at Morland Road on Thursday.
The police, meanwhile, stepped-up security deployment in the area, with entry points to Morland Road being barricaded. Only women and those living nearby were being allowed access into Morland Road, and those coming from other areas were required to show identification documents.
“The gathering is illegal. Moreover this is causing inconvenience to the people who live in the locality. We will definitely take a step against it,” said a senior Mumbai Police officer at the spot, who did not wish to be named. On Tuesday, Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh had requested the protesters to vacate Morland Road after a delegation of protesters met him at the state secretariat. He urged them to relocate to a nearby open ground, but they refused to relent.
