Mumbai: Activists detained after trying to show solidarity with Palestinians

AMID the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine the Mumbai Police have intensified their efforts to ensure public safety and prevent any potential lawandorder disturbances They have initiated discussions with community leaders emphasising the importance of maintaining peace and refraining from street protests Meetings were organised with the Mojalla committee on Thursday where the authorities urged community members to avoid any public demonstrations that might escalate tensionsAlso the authorities are closely monitoring social media activities working in collaboration with the special branch to swiftly remove any content that could incite unrest Local police stations in Mumbai and Thane have held meetings with mosque imams and committee members to underscore the significance of maintaining calm and preventing any form of public unrest following Friday prayersPolice reach outMoin Ashraf Qadri of All India Sunni Jamiatul Ulema said ldquoA general meeting was held by the police as is customary during major events where they sought information regarding any planned protestsHowever we had already decided to hold a peaceful gathering inside the mosque offering prayers for our Palestinian brethren who have long suffered due to the conflict The police did not issue any specific directives regarding the protestrdquoScenes from the protest at Lallubhai Compound in Mankhurd on Friday evening PicsEshan KalyanikarSimilarly Shoeb Khatib secretary of Juma Masjid of Bombay Trust Crawford Market explained ldquoThe LT Marg police summoned us for a meeting before Friday prayers inquiring about any scheduled protests against Israel While no specific instructions were given to abstain from protests we chose to conduct our prayers inside the mosque prioritising public safety and orderrdquoAt Cheetah Camp a predominantly Muslim area a meeting was organised where clerics were requested to refrain from organising any public demonstrations and instead encourage prayers within the mosque Maulana Mohammed Zahid the imam of the mosque in Cheetah Camp stated ldquoThe police emphasised the sensitivity of the issue and urged us to prioritise humanity and prevent any disturbances in our locality We were instructed to conduct our prayers inside the mosque During the Friday sermon I urged the Muslim community to ensure that no one takes to the streets and advised anyone considering otherwise to inform the police and seek permissionrdquoA meeting was also organised by Thane police in Mumbra where instructions were given not to carry out street protests due to security reasons as this might trigger a situation in the area and other parts of the city Notably the police have heightened security in Muslim neighbourhoods as well as areas with Israeli residents They have implemented stringent security measures around the Israeli embassy and locations relevant to the Jewish community in the city ldquoThe meeting was organised to listen to the problems of the people and various issues were discussedrdquo said DCP Ganesh Gawde Thane Zone 1Activists detainedMeanwhile six citybased activists have been detained by the Matunga and Mankhurd police since they approached the former seeking permission to stage a demonstration expressing solidarity with the people of Palestine The detained activists are affiliated with the Revolutionary Workers Party India while about 25 of their counterparts proceeded with the protest at Lallubhai Compound in Mankhurd on Friday eveningMembers of Raza Academy organise a special prayer for the Palestine people outside Minara Masjid Mohammed Ali Road on FridayPooja an activist involved in the demonstration said one person was detained late on Thursday evening by the Matunga police while three others were detained by the Mankhurd cops on Friday morningShe stated ldquoAll we wanted to do was inform them Matunga police that we intended to conduct a protest they detained our members claiming that our protest could hurt religious sentiments and disrupt harmonyrdquoShe added that the group had no intention to protest at Mankhurd earlier and had not approached the officials there ldquoThey suddenly showed up at the library that we run in the area and started taking people with them We were just sitting and doing our work Pooja saidSenior Inspector Deepak Chavan of the Matunga police station confirmed that an activist Baban Thoke had been detained by them on Thursday evening He said ldquoThey wanted to protest about a contentious issue that is occurring elsewhere We were concerned that it could disturb law and order They would have proceeded with the protest even if we had simply denied them permissionrdquo He added that Thoke has been detained under Section 1511 of the Code of Criminal Procedure Meanwhile Mankhurd police station officials refused to answer any questionsLawyer SpeakAdvocate Lara Jaisani of the Peoples Union of Civil Liberties PUCL said the section can be applied only when the police believe a cognisable offence can take place ldquoThere is no offence that was going to take place and the right to protest is a constitutional right not a crime In any case no one can be kept under preventive detention for more than 24 hours and if that happens one can approach the court for their release since it would amount to arbitrary and illegal detentionrdquo she addedAccording to senior journalist Stanly Johny more than 1350 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli forces in Gaza just days after an attack by the militant group Hamas on October 7 which killed 1200 IsraelisInputs by Eshan Kalyanikar