Pune: Several office-bearers of the Maharashtra Youth Congress and Pune City Congress were taken into preventive police custody shortly after midnight ahead of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval's visit to Pune on Saturday. The Congress leaders claimed they were held for nearly 16 hours and alleged that police also seized their mobile phones during the detention.
According to the Youth Congress, police personnel reached the leaders' homes around midnight and detained them as a preventive measure to avoid any law-and-order situation during the high-profile visit. The organisation claimed the leaders remained in custody for around 16 hours before being released.
The Youth Congress condemned the police action, saying peaceful protest and dissent are democratic rights protected by the Constitution. It alleged that detaining political workers before any protest had taken place, keeping them in custody for several hours and taking possession of their mobile phones raised serious questions about democratic freedoms.
Those detained included Maharashtra Pradesh Youth Congress Media Department Chairman Akshay Jain, Parvati Block Congress President Swapnil Naik, Wadgaon Sheri Block Congress President Raju Thombare, Youth Congress Vice President Saddam Shaikh and Kasba Assembly Youth Congress President Gaurav Balande.
Reacting to the incident, Akshay Jain said the action in Pune came after police action against Rahul Gandhi-led protesters in Delhi. He claimed the leaders were detained even before any protest began despite posing no threat to law and order.
"We want to know why we were kept in custody for nearly 16 hours and under what legal provisions our mobile phones were taken. The administration should answer these questions publicly," Jain said.
He added that the Youth Congress would continue to hold peaceful and democratic protests and said such action would not stop the organisation from raising issues related to democracy, constitutional rights and freedom of expression.
