Cops collect addresses and IDs at Mumbai Bagh

Police have set up a desk at Mumbai Bagh to record details of all women attending the protest so that they may be booked for unlawful assembly later Police sources told midday that it has become tough to identify the women as all of them come dressed in burkhasThe Mumbai Bagh protest at Nagpadas Morland Road entered the 18th day on Wednesday Women Police Constables WPC along with male police officers have been stationed at the entrance of the barricaded stretch to take women protesters detailsZonal Deputy Commissioner of Police Abhinash Kumar said We have already registered a case against the protesting women Whoever joins them to agitate will be held equally responsible for violating the lawSince the protesters are hijabclad women their identity cannot be established It is why we are taking the contact number name and address of all women entering the protest at Nagpada It will help us trace the accused and add their details to the charge sheet Kumar addedIt was getting tough to establish their identity as all the protesters are women wearing burkhas In case of any emergency their contact details will be helpful in tracing them said an officer attached to the Nagpada police stationA woman protester requesting anonymity said I was asked to give my name before entering Mumbai Bagh on Saturday Later when I was among the crowd a plainclothes police officer called me and made me sign a document He said it is a notice under Section 149 unlawful assembly of the IPC He did not let me contact a lawyerThe woman later approached Senior Police Inspector of Nagpada police Shalini Sharma asked me to contact Mumbai Bagh activists instead of asking her the woman saidThe woman was approached by a plainclothes officer again during her next visit I smiled at him and said Sir mere paas yeh wala notice already hai He left without saying anything the woman saidAnother female protester claimed that police is discouraging teenagers from joining the protestMubashira Qureshi a 22yearold Sociology student at Somaiya College said My contact details such as full address mobile number what I study and where etc have been taken by Mumbai police as they told me that if I have to protest at Mumbai Bagh I need to sign a document and give them contact detailsThough I did not sign any document others who did not give contact details at the entrance were not allowed to enter They blocked the traffic demanding to be allowed inside Qureshi saidAnother female protester Shoonya Khare told midday that she has been going to Mumbai Bagh since day one and was detained by Mumbai police at a Nagpada house on the very first dayOn the first day I and my friends were detained for six to eight hours by police who asked us about our ideology why we have come to the protest etc Later when the case against 300 people was registered cops started taking contact details of female protesters Khare saidThey have also taken my contact number and PAN card details On Monday cops reached my house in Chembur but I was not available So they harassed my parents and forced my father to sign a notice served under section 149 unlawful assembly of the IPC While going back they also took contact details of my watchman said Khare who accused Mumbai police of misusing their power and showing highhandedness to intimidate protestorsThough the police have not evicted protesters on Friday last week a case against 300 protesters was registered under Sections 341 wrongful restraint 34 common intention of the Indian Penal Code and sections 313 depositing thing in streets 314 removing unauthorised structures of the BMC Act at Nagpada police station for obstructing civic workActivist Medha Patkar attended the Mumbai Bagh protest on Tuesday Pic Atul KambleAfter the case was registered women protesters were heard talking about forming a human chain in case action for eviction is takenA senior IPS officer said most of the protesters are local residents Even if we evict them they will unlawfully assemble again to resume their protest So we are only watching who all join them Our officers in plain clothes are also videorecording the protest The footage will help us identify people if they utter anything objectionable or chant antinational slogans the IPS officer saidProminent leaders including a few women from Mumbai Bagh met me four days ago I said that their protest is unlawful as they dont have permission They promised to call it off I had warned about the notices under Section 149 IPC Home Minister Anil Deshmukh told midday Mumbai police are doing their job and if the protest is not called off peacefully protesters will be forcefully evicted he addedMeanwhile 22yearold studentactivist Urvashi Chudawala booked by Azad Maidan police for sedition was granted interim relief by Bombay High Court on Tuesday so that she can appear for exams on February 14No dafliMumbai police have restricted protesters from using loudspeakers megaphones and daflis at Mumbai Bagh People from across India have been coming to join the sitinI wanted to recite my poems to the tune of my dafli but a police officer disallowed me from playing it Yeh toh hathiyaar hai he told me said Bappadittya Sarkar whose Uber ride in the city last week created a furore after driver Rohit Singh Gaur took him to Santacruz police over a phone conversationSince when did dafli become a hathiyaar I am surprised Another police officer told me that the crowd is huge and uncontrollable and if the dafli is played at the protest site it will be difficult for police to control them What rubbish Sarkar addedA friend of mine has now written This Weapon Kills Fascism on my dafli Sarkar said300No of protesters booked by Mumbai police last week18No of days since Mumbai Bagh protest beganFeb 7Day the police booked Mumbai Bagh protestersCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also download 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