Deshmukh urges protesters to vacate ‘Mumbai Bagh’; Police issue notice to anti-CAA protesters under CrPC section 149

At ‘Mumbai Bagh’ in Nagpada on Monday. (Photo: Nirmal Harindran)

Mumbai Police issued a notice Monday under section 149 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) to people protesting against the new citizenship amendment law at Nagpada, with Home Minister Anil Deshmukh issuing a public statement urging protesters to withdraw their agitation.

Section 149 of the CrPC states that if an offence is committed by any member of an unlawful assembly, every person who, at the time of the committing of that offence, is a member of the same assembly, is guilty of that offence.

Several women, on the lines of Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh, have been occupying a section of Morland Road since January 26. The sit-in, that has come to be popularly known as the ‘Mumbai Bagh’ protest, entered its ninth day Monday.

On Saturday, a group of volunteers at the protest site had announced that the agitation was being called off in absence of police permission, however, around 800 women had joined the protest on the same day.

On Monday, Mumbai Police imposed CrPC section 149 and handed a copy of the notice to the people at the protest site. Police have claimed that under the guidelines of High Court, people can only protest at Azad Maidan in Mumbai. Nagpada police added that they have earlier requested the protesters to gather and protest at Azad Maidan, but they had refused.

“They (anti-CAA protesters) did not take permission for loudspeakers that they have been using at any hour of the day. There are people who are making provocative speeches and we fear that it may create a law and order problem. This is why CrPC section 149 has been imposed,” Senior Police Inspector Shalini Sharma of Nagpada police station said. The police, Sharma said, have given a copy of the notice to every protester and asked them to call off the protest before any legal action is initiated.

“There are people who have refuse to take the copy of the notice, which we have mentioned in our station house dairy,” said Sharma.

Meanwhile, Deshmukh claimed he met a delegation of women protesters from ‘Mumbai Bagh’ and a few legislators over the matter Monday. “A delegation of women, who were protesting at Nagpada, and MLAs Abu Azmi, Rais Shaikh, Mumbai Police Commissioner Sanjay Barve, former chairman of State Minorities Commission Naseem Siddiqui and former MLA Waris Pathan today met me. There was discussion with the delegation on the matter… The state government has repeatedly stated that no citizen of the state will be deprived of citizenship. I appealed to the delegation to withdraw the agitation. The delegation has also responded positively,” Deshmukh said.

Claiming that the police were interfering with the peaceful protest, Reshma Khatun, one of the protesters, said, “I don’t understand why police are interfering in our peaceful protest. We never spoke on the Kashmir issue, but still police are claiming that our protest is causing a security threat.”

Seerat Raza, another protestor, said, “Our protest is against the Citizen (Amendment) Act and National Register of Citizens (NRC). Our protest is not about Kashmir, but it is against the government, which is acting like a dictator.” Raza claimed two of their volunteers had been detained and taken to Nagpada Police station, “But police are claiming that they have not detained anyone,” she said.

Sharma said police take people to police station on the basis of suspicion, but release them if they don’t find anything against the person.

Meanwhile, Colaba Police that registered a case of illegal assembly against 31 people at Gateway of India, has started calling them to the police station. Activist Feroze Mithiborwala, who has been named in the FIR, said he received a call from a police inspector and was asked to remain present with surety. “I was told to come with surety amount to the police station, but I could not go today,” he said.

Other activists present at the protest, including advocate Lara Jesai, have also received a call from the police. Senior Police Inspector Shivaji Phadtare confirmed police have started calling the 31 people, booked for illegal assembly, to the police station. “We may place them under formal arrest and release them immediately,” he said.