Over 500 join Chembur protest demanding Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation

At least 500 people participated in a protest demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in Chembur on Wednesday Protesters started gathering around the protest site Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Udyan around 11 am and the demonstration organised by FG Foundation officially began at 1 pm By 2 pm the crowd had peaked with participants from several backgrounds including students activists and AmbedkaritesPolice personnel escort a protester away during the student demonstration near Shivaji Park in Dadar on Wednesday PicsAtul KambleAn onduty police officer said there were at least 500 participants while another said the count was over 2000 No official figure was provided The protesters raised their voice holding the Constitution of India placards targeting Pradhan and Prime Minister Narendra Modi the tricolour and blue Jai Bhim flags in hand The gathering also clapped and recited the national anthem while they were dealing with the police officialsOver 150 cops deployedThe protest organised at Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Udyan PICSARTHAK MEHTAAs per a senior police official more than 150 police personnel were deployed at the spot to maintain law and order ldquoNo major violence erupted and the police didnrsquot use any forcerdquo said the officialOver 50 detainedStudents and political party workers protest in Vashi The students said their fight is for transparent examinations and education reforms mdash not political pointscoring PicsAbhitash SinghMumbai Policersquos Additional Commissioner of Police EastDhananjay Kulkarni was leading the security arrangements A senior Mumbai Police official said at least 50 protesters were detained ldquoWe are still processing them but the count is way more than 50rdquoSite cleared by 5 pmThe protest organised in Chembur by NGO FG Foundation on Wednesday PICSSARTHAK MEHTAThe majority of the crowd that had gathered suddenly dispersed around 330 pm but hundreds of protesters regathered at the spot at 420 pm and the protest continued till 445 pm when DCP East Zone 1 Sameer Shaikh convinced the organising NGOrsquos President Atish Ghokshe and his associate Aman Ambedkar greatgrandson of Dr BR Ambedkar to officially halt the protest Following the organisersrsquo request the gathering dispersed clearing the site by 5 pm Protesters continued marching in the lanes of Chembur and midday last recorded them around 530 pmLaw and order maintainedThe protest was largely contained on the footpaths and private premises by the police Traffic was moving through the spot but slower than usual A portion of the gathering came on the roads multiple times but law and order was promptly restored by the active police personnel and several cordial protestersCleanup actAs a shopkeeper assessed a damaged railing in the aftermath of the protest a lady who was part of the demonstration was seen picking up trash after the crowd dispersed ldquoI donrsquot want people blaming my kids for this trash thus I am here taking care of it myselfrdquo said Chembur resident Bobby Saini 45Parent SpeakJyoti Jekte 40 Chembur residentlsquoMy son Vedant is 17 and a Std XII student I had told him to wait till I got back from the hospital after which we both could go but by the time I got back he had gone to the protest site When I arrived at the site I saw my son being detained I requested them multiple times saying that he was a minor but they didnrsquot listen Responding to Jyotirsquos concerns a police official told her to calm down ldquoNothing will happen to your son he will be freed shortlyrdquo said the police officialrsquoFake resignationThe crowd dispersed around 330 pm after a fake resignation letter of Dharmendra Pradhan was shown at the protest site by an unidentified man ldquoThe man urged the protesters to end the demonstration as the demands were met After a few people left the gathering with uncertainty many followed and the site was cleared in a domino effectrdquo said Zainul Shaikh 23 a Chembur resident ldquoWe made a few online searches checked CJPrsquos socials and realised that it was a misleading ploy After this hundreds of us regathered at the site within half an hourrdquo stated Riyaaz Shaikh a Maladbased law studentOrganiser SpeakAdv Atish Ghokshe 29 activist president of FG Foundation NGOlsquoWe had announced this protest in solidarity with students and for the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan two days back through social media platforms We didnrsquot have any written permission but we are protesting because we believe right to protest is onersquos constitutional right I know CJP leader Ahireji but this was not a CJP protest This was a successful citizensrsquo gathering which saw voluntary presence from students parents activists Ambedkarites including Aman Ambedkar and CJP followers Our aim and mission are common On Wednesday after multiple requests from the police we halted the protest around 445 pm The police assured us that minors detained wonrsquot be booked and that everyone detained will be freedrsquoProtester SpeakDr Ankita and Dr Swapnil protesterslsquoWe husband and wife are doctors We know how tough and anxious the NEET examinations are Accountability from the government is a must because these leaks affect students in the most severe ways possible Even the postexam procedure for NEET superspeciality examination is currently delayedhellip 30yearold doctors are forced to sit at home worried about their college counselling prospectsrsquoSemtika Maurya 29 architect Chembur residentlsquoI have been to all the student protests of Mumbai this is my fourth My family has a lot of advocates so advocating for what is right comes naturally to me Some media outlets are trying to malign the protests thus we have grown insecure about media coveragersquoSujal Bhosle protesterlsquoI have been here since morning and was detained for an hour before a local leader came in and requested our freedom I will continue protesting because I believe that our education system needs reforms and studentsrsquo concerns are validrsquoBani Ansari 20 student Ghatkopar residentlsquoThis is my first protest and I am very nervous I find studentsrsquo concerns valid and accountability is a must This is why I stand here with this placard lsquoEk din education resign kar degi aur minister reh jayegarsquoAfeefa Shekh NEET studentlsquoI live beyond Kalyan and have come along with my younger sister My father wasnrsquot supportive of us coming here so I had to lie to him My mother is in the loop The duration between the NEET cancellation and reNEET was very bad for me I couldnrsquot focus on my studies as I was very anxious I am sure my reNEET score would be lower than what I could have scored in the first attempt I am here to demand accountability for the governmentrsquos failuresrsquo50Approximate no of people detained