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As CAA Protests Rage On In Mumbai, Delhi Police Detains Students

The protesters alleged that the Delhi Police wanted to “black out” reports of violence from Uttar Pradesh.
Police detain a woman protester in front of Uttar Pradesh Bhawan in New Delhi on Monday.
Adnan Abidi / Reuters
Police detain a woman protester in front of Uttar Pradesh Bhawan in New Delhi on Monday.

NEW DELHI — On Monday, as lakhs of people attended rallies opposing the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai, the Delhi Police detained students who were trying to raise their voice against the crackdown on Muslims in Uttar Pradesh.

The police imposed Section 144 outside Uttar Pradesh Bhawan in Chanakyapuri, South Delhi, loading protestors on buses and taking them to the Mandir Marg police station, more than 6 kilometers away.

Detained students alleged that the Delhi Police, which has been heavily criticised for brutally attacking protesters in predominantly Muslim neighbourhoods, wanted to “black out” reports of violence coming in from Uttar Pradesh.

The BJP-ruled state has seen a massive crackdown by police on protestors, and 18 people, including an 8-year-old boy, have died in the violence. Close to 800 people have been arrested in the state, as per the police, and ground reports say the police have been ransacking houses and arresting Muslim men.

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‘Don’t go, don’t go’

On Monday, paramilitary personnel deployed near UP Bhawan and Assam Bhawan in Delhi told this reporter it would be better to leave the area.

“Don’t go, don’t go, there is danger in front,” said a CRPF personnel.

The sentiment was echoed by nearly all the paramilitary force personnel in the vicinity.

“Do you see the police women there, they are picking up everyone and putting them in the bus. You better leave,” said another CRPF personnel.

It was shortly after these warnings that the next batch of student protestors arrived at the scene. They were loaded into a bus that drove them to the Mandir Marg police station.

Just before she was hauled into a bus, Maitryi Shah, a history student at St. Stephens, said, “Section 144 is everywhere. Detention is an easy tool. We are not suffering like UP. This is the least we can do.”

Kawalpreet Kaur, a law student at Delhi University, said that she was still paying the auto-rickshaw driver when two policewomen came charging at her and dragged her into a bus.

“Even if Section 144 is imposed, this is not how you do it. I was alone at the time. The police are standing there and profiling people and dragging them away,” said Kaur, speaking to HuffPost India from the Mandir Marg police station, where she is detained.

“They want a complete blackout on what is happening in UP.”

Kaur, who was the first to arrive on the scene, said that she was alone for some time in the bus with the police personnel, both men and women.

“This was frightening. You never know what can happen.”

At around 2pm, Kaur said that more students who had come to protest were brought to the station. Students at the station said the number was detainees was around 100. HuffPost India is trying to verify this information.

One woman tweeted that she had been hauled away by the police even though she had not come to the protest.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.