Mumbai: CJP supporters clash with police during Sonam Wangchuk protest near CSMT

Between 15 and 20 protesters were picked up by the police and shoved into the vans after the situation got tense. Pics/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

Around 3.30 pm on Saturday, 35 protestors seemed to have given Mumbai Police the slip by using the Metro subway to make their way to the CMST area to join the protest held by the Mumbai wing of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) in support of activist Sonam Wangchuk. This came after Wangchuk was forcibly removed from his hunger strike and taken to hospital in the early hours of Saturday, as cops cracked down on the stir at Jantar Mantar in Delhi.

The protestors here at CSMT seemed to be aware that Mumbai Police had completely sealed off the area amid tension over the police action in Delhi. The demonstrators, who were not many in number, came holding placards that said, "Now not only Dharmendra but Narendra must also resign". The banners also bore the symbol of the Mumbai wing of the All India Students' Federation (AISF).

Earlier in the day, the police had cordoned off the roads that converge right outside CSMT and had cut off the access to pedestrians and cars towards Azad Maidan and Patrakar Sangh - both of which were designated as meeting spots by AISF in posters circulated on social media.

The protestors didn't make it even across before they were stopped, leading to a clash between the students and the police.

Between 15 and 20 students were detained and taken in police vans. During a live telecast of the incident by a news channel, a protestor was seen screaming, "We are the future of the nation and look at the way they are treated us". Another said, "We are practising our constitutional right to protest. How are they arresting our colleagues and friends?"

The gathering led to brief traffic disruptions around the BMC headquarters circle, CSMT, and adjoining roads. The police diverted vehicles to ease congestion. Heavy police presence was deployed in the area to maintain law and order and prevent any untoward incident.

Senior police officers monitored the situation while additional personnel were stationed around the protest site. Traffic movement gradually returned to normal after the demonstrators dispersed.

Police officials said the situation remained under control throughout the protest and no major law-and-order issues were reported. Authorities urged citizens to avoid assembling without prior permission and appealed to protesters to express their views peacefully without disrupting public movement or inconveniencing commuters.

Inputs by Ritika Gondhalekar