Continued from page 01 ON Thursday, police personnel, though high in number, were seen lounging on chairs. The registration desk meant to keep a record of protesters lay unmanned. A lone police officer recorded the eveningu2019s proceedings on his mobile phone, while his colleagues stood on the footpath, keeping a close watch. The hardcore profiling that began a few days ago u2014 with even a banana- seller not being spared u2014 seemed to be down.
On Wednesday and Thursday, some women offered flowers to police personnel, promising to keep the protest peaceful. On Valentineu2019s Day, they are planning to give 5,000 roses to Senior Police Inspector of Nagpada police, Shalini Sharma.
u201c The biggest change has happened within us,u201d said Rupiaya Patel, 40.
u201c Earlier, we used to be at home and take care of our kids and the household.
We saw protests only on the news. But our perception and understanding of the situation changed when we came here. I was scared for the first few days of the protest, especially when police turned up on the very first night of January 26. My heart would race every time I saw them. But now, our attitude is different.
Today, irrespective of the authoritiesu2019 high- handedness, we stand our ground.u201d Umme Uzair, 30, feels that the attitude of police has changed for the worse. u201c Police are more intimidating and egoistic. They have been taking everyoneu2019s numbers and addresses and trying to scare us a lot. The crowd is lesser here during the daytime, till about 1.30 pm. This is when police tries to interfere. As the crowd increases, they too back down.u201d u201c They are sending notices under Section 149 to people via Whatsapp,u201d claimed 52- year- old Sarita. u201c At Byculla and Mumbai Central railway stations, burqa- clad women are being profiled and identified by authorities.
They ask women if they are going for protests.u201d Never invited politicians When asked about the involvement of various politicians who claim to be representing the protesters, Patel said: u201c We never invited politicians to the protest. They came and tried to dominate us.u201d Uzair added: u201c Our first and only delegation so far went to meet MP Supriya Sule today state Home Minister Anil Deshmukh. Those who met politicians on our behalf before had vested interests.u201d u201c We feel that local politicians like Naseem Siddiqui along with prominent leaders like MLAs Abu Azmi, Amin Patel, MLC Husna Bano Khalife, former MLAs Yusuf Abrahani, Waris Pathan and other local activists, who are self- proclaimed guardians of Mumbai Baghu2019s women are working with Mumbai police to discourage women. In addition, local builders too, are trying to convince us to discontinue the protest as their construction work is getting hampered,u201d said one of the organisers, Tohaa Qureshi. u201c On Thursday, Mumbai police seemed to have mellowed down and were cordial with protesters thanks to the media reports.u201d Meanwhile, the retired ACP Shamsherkhan Pathan said that local politicians have been prohibited from entering the protest site.
With inputs from Diwakar Sharma u2018 Local politicos trying to discourage womenu2019 Mumbai Bagh protesters disassociate themselves from local activists and politicians; claim they are working with cops to end Mumbai Bagh u2018 Police are more intimidating and egoistic. They have been taking everyoneu2019s numbers and addresses and trying to scare us a lot. The crowd is lesser here during the daytime, till about 1.30 pm. This is when police tries to interfere.
As the crowd increases, they too back downu2019 Umme Uzair, protester u2018 They are sending notices under Section 149 to people via WhatsApp. At Byculla and Mumbai Central railway stations, burqa- clad women are being profiled and identified by authorities. They ask women if they are going for protestsu2019 Sarita, protester A protesteru2019s hand is adorned with anti- CAA- NRC- NPR henna. PIC/ SATE J SHINDE On Valentineu2019s Day, women are going to offer Nagpada police Senior Police Inspector Shalini Sharma 5,000 roses. PIC/ BIPIN KOKATE
