Protests in Mumbai continued for the third day as students, activists, and political parties rallied against NEET exam irregularities and police actions against protesters in Delhi. Demonstrators criticized the crackdown during a recent march towards Parliament, demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Photo : PTI
Mumbai witnessed protests at several locations on Wednesday (July 22) for the third consecutive day as students, activists and political parties intensified their agitation over NEET exam irregularities and the police action against Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protesters in Delhi.
The protests were linked to the ongoing movement demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Demonstrators also criticised the crackdown on protesters and CJP supporters during their march towards Parliament in Delhi on July 21.
Congress Leaders Detained in South Mumbai
The Congress took out a march from Gandhi Bhavan towards the Maharashtra BJP office in south Mumbai. The party said it wanted to hand over a copy of the Constitution to BJP leaders.
However, police stopped the march near Regal Cinema Chowk. Senior leaders, including Maharashtra Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal, Congress Legislature Party leader Vijay Wadettiwar and former minister Naseem Khan, were detained, PTI reported.
Eyewitnesses said police forcibly removed the leaders from the protest site and put them into police vans. They were taken to Colaba police station and later released. Protesters raised slogans such as “Modi Hatao, Desh Bachao” and demanded the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan.
Chembur Protest Sees Detentions
Hundreds of protesters gathered at Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Garden in Chembur despite prohibitory orders and heavy police deployment. Police detained several protesters and took them to the local police station. Some eyewitnesses alleged that police dragged a few protesters into police vehicles.
The protesters carried placards demanding reforms in the education system and action over the alleged NEET paper leak. After the detentions, police dispersed the remaining crowd.
Dhurandhar Fame Ayesha Khan Detained
Ayesha Khan was also detained by the Mumbai Police today. The actress took to Instagram to share that she and her two female friends were detained by the cops for ‘standing on the road peacefully’. She shared visuals from inside the police van and wrote that it took four police women to pull her into the van.
In the clip shared by Ayesha Khan, she can be heard saying, “My hands are literally shivering right now. I have been detained just for standing on the road peacefully. I did not even say a word or start a protest. I was just standing because my brother and male friends were detained. We were just standing on the road, my other two female friends and me.”
Dadar Becomes the Main Protest Hub
After being released, several protesters moved towards Shivaji Park in Dadar. Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray, MNS leader Amit Thackeray and NCP (SP) leader Fahad Ahmad reached the protest site and later visited the police station.
Following their intervention, detained protesters were released, according to PTI sources. Aaditya Thackeray accused the government of suppressing peaceful protests and said the voice of students needed to reach Delhi.