Mumbai: Some protestors who gathered at Marine Drive here on Monday as part of a candlelight vigil in the wake of clashes in northeast Delhi were detained by Mumbai Police who also barricaded the Gateway of India premises.
Police barricaded the Gateway of India and people who had gathered to protest Monday's violence in Delhi started to gather at Marine Drive area from where they were dispersed by police and some of them were taken away in police vans.
"Somebody forwarded a message that gave a call for a protest regarding the Delhi violence. We have designated places for protest in Mumbai like Azad Maidan.
Despite this people were going to the Gateway of India. When we stopped them they gathered at Marine Drive. It was causing inconvenience to locals. We talked to them and dispersed them peacefully. Some people have been detained," DCP Sangram Singh told reporters here.
Four people including a head constable of Delhi Police lost their lives in the clashes that took place between pro-CAA and anti-CAA protesters at various places in the North-East District of Delhi.
Police presence has been stepped up at the Gateway of India to thwart any attempt by people to gather at the venue to protest against the violence in Delhi, an official said on Monday night.
According to the official, police personnel have been deployed in large numbers around the iconic monument, located across the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in south Mumbai, and barricades put up at nearby roads to restrict movement of people and vehicles.
In early January, the Gateway of India was the site of a protest against the attack on JNU students by armed goons and also over the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the NRC-NPR project.
After a few days, the protesters called off their stir when they were shifted from the Gateway of India, a popular tourist attraction, to Azad Maidan, around 3km away.
However, many of these protesters are facing cases for unlawful assembly. Clashes unfolded in northeast Delhi's Jaffrabad on Sunday and spiralled in nearby areas, including Bhajanpura, Chandbagh, Yamuna Vihar and Maujpur where pro-and-anti-CAA protests turned violent on Monday, leading to the death of four people, including a head constable, injuries to 50 others, according to officials.
