1,000 protest against 'the cop with the hockey stick'

1000 protesters flocked to Carter Road and staged a protest for two hours In addition to the usual sloganeering and placards that decried the archaic laws and their arbitrary implementation lsquoDhoble go backrsquo the young citizens spearheading the movement were seen distributing 500 thermocol hockey stick cutouts in mock protest of Dhoble who often wields one on his many raidsu00a0 United we stand Youngsters flocked to Carter Road and staged a protest for two hours waving placards and thermocol hockey sticks mdash something that has become synonymous with ACP Social Service branch Dhoble after MiD DAY reported how he used one to terrorise staff at a Vile Parle juice centre PicsShadab Khan The stick has become the controversial coprsquos trademark a mascot of sorts in his war against Mumbairsquos nightlife On Saturday Khar police played spoilsport when they denied permission for the youth rally organised in Bandra to protest against the crackdown on the cityrsquos nightlife They issued an order under Section 149 of IPC warning the organiser not to create a law and order problem Leave us alone Young and old joined hands to stage a peaceful protest rally in Bandra against ACP Vasant Dhoblersquos ways The warning failed to stymie protesters who marched from Otters Club to the amphitheatre at Carter Road For those who believe that the protest is solely a venture of the cityrsquos unruly and brazen youth who are angry because they canrsquot party herersquos a reality check It was 55yearold Bandra resident Cornel Gonsalvesrsquo idea to dole out fake hockey sticks to protesting youths as a symbolic gesture of protest He said ldquoMy intention was to convey to Mr Dhoble that thermocol hockey sticks do not hurt but the real ones do It is not right for cops to maintain outdated laws and then fine and extort victims in their name I am an old man but I totally support the youth in their protest against the way in which the Social Service branch is targeting pubs and restaurantsrdquo Organisers did the rounds of the Khar police station several times to obtain police permission for the rally but were denied finally they decided to go ahead with the protest anyway PicsShadab Khan 27yearold Santacruz resident Payal Jairaj who participated in the rally said ldquoWe are not here to criticise the Mumbai police but to protest against archaic laws that have killed Mumbairsquos nightlife We are also outraged by the way these archaic laws are being misused We need to raise our voice against this and hence we decided to support the rallyrdquo Wellknown faces were seen at the protest like Sandeep SoparkarRahul Kanal who organised the rally said ldquoWe are happy that we were not stopped by anyone and we could display our grievances We are planning to meet the Chief Minister soon to raise all our concernsrdquo 31yearold Bandra resident Elton Rodriques said ldquoThe protest is the need of the hour We work all day and in the evenings we just want to relax and meet friends But with these recent raids we are losing out on these simple pleasuresrdquo Karan Varyani who went several times to Khar police but failed to get permission said ldquoIt is disappointing that they did not give us permission even for a simple peaceful protest However we staged the rally Wrong things are happening in the name of moral policing If they want to arrest us let them ndash this is Talibanism right here in Mumbairdquo With inputs from Saurabh Vaktaniau00a0 Also read 50 pledge to help cops shut down pubs