Hyderabad: An estimated 2,500 people gathered opposite Indira park in Hyderabad on Monday to demonstrate against police attempts to make ”Dharna Chowk”, a popular city location for protests of all sorts, off limits.
The gathering was organized by the Telangana Joint Action Committee (TJAC) and left parties.
Changing its earlier stance, the city police allowed the gathering to take place. It had been denying permission to hold protests there from about two months to all organisations, leaving no place to gather and protest in the city.
While the protest was mostly peaceful, the police had to lathi-charge members of two groups after they clashed. Two policemen were also injured, a senior police official from the central zone said on condition of anonymity. He added said that some of those who had gathered there wanted “Dharna Chowk” to be shifted and had an argument with those who came to attend the rally.
“Dharna Chowk” as such is not a notified place for protests, and permissions were given based on the law and order situations, said Joel Davis, deputy commissioner of police (DCP), central zone, Mint reported on 5 May. Monday’s change in the police’s stance was also surprising, as another official in the same report had said that those violating the law would be taken into custody.
On Monday morning, people started pouring in at the site from about 9am. Members of opposition parties including the Congress, BJP and other non-political organisations also joined the protests. M. Kodandaram, chairman of the TJAC, said the government should have some clarity on the issue.
“We have been asking police to call a meeting with all political parties for a discussion on the issue, but it is not being done. This is not right,” said Kodandaram. Prior to this, several organisations sat on a month-long relay protest at the local Communist Party of India (CPI) office.
Four alternative sites were identified by the state administration on the outskirts of Hyderabad, which the TJAC, opposition parties and civil organisations were steadfastly against. Though Monday’s protest was allowed, it is still uncertain whether the police will give permissions for future protests at the site.
When asked about it, the senior police official said, “Since the protest was peaceful, we decided not to take those who were gathering into preventive custody. Both groups, for and against ‘Dharna Chowk’ were allowed to gather. We cannot say now if permissions will be given henceforth.”
The central zone police has registered four cases against the organisers of the ”chalo Dharna Chowk” rally over the clash that took place on Monday. While no one has been arrested so far, the police is verifying CCTV footage to identify people who instigated the fight, said DCP Davis.