Magsaysay awardee Sandeep Pandey along with nine others was on Monday arrested and later released by the Uttar Pradesh police while he was trying to lead a march against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the proposed nationwide National Register of Citizens. Mr. Pandey was also found distributing pamphlets at the protest site. He was released on a personal bond.

“He spent 3-4 hours in custody,” said Mr. Pandey’s wife Arundhati Dhuru, an activist. Mr. Pandey and others were booked under CrPC Section 151, which deals with arrest to prevent the commission of cognisable offences.

Mr. Pandey, a well-known social activist, along with 30-40 persons were marching from the Hussainabad Clock Tower to Ujariyaon village in Lucknow. Women have been holding sit-ins against the CAA at both sites since last month.

The pamphlets, distributed by Mr. Pandey and signed by a number of activists, asked citizens to unite to turn the Preamble of the Constitution “into a reality”.