The Protesters in front of the Sharad Pawar's house Silver Oak, South Mumbai. (Express photo by Ganesh Shirsekar) A day after 110 people, mostly striking workers of Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC), were arrested for allegedly barging into NCP chief Sharad Pawar’s residence in Mumbai and hurling footwear, the police on Saturday cleared the Azad Maidan, where hundreds of staffers had been protesting since last November seeking the corporation’s merger with the state government.
Before evicting them, the Azad Maidan police issued a preventive notice to all the staffers under Section 149 of the Code of Criminal Procedure to prevent cognizable offences.
The notice stated that in connection with the incident at Pawar’s residence Silver Oak, the police have received orders to ensure that no untoward incident takes place in Mumbai and the state. It added that it is the duty of the staffers to cooperate with the police to maintain law and order and ensure that no illegal act is committed by them in Mumbai as well as in Maharashtra.
The notice further said that in case any untoward incident takes place, creating a law and order situation, or any cognizable or non-congizable offense takes place, legal action will be taken against the workers.
The protest site wore a deserted look by Saturday afternoon as the workers started leaving early morning. While a few protesters left the premises on their own, a few were taken to the police station from there they were sent home.
As the police removed protesters from Azad Maidan, hundreds of staffers went to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus and sat on the platforms, attempting to continue their protest there.
The police said many had bought tickets to return home but were not willing to leave. Following this, the railway police removed them from the platforms and made them board their respective trains.
Meanwhile, as arrested MSRTC staffers and their lawyer Gunaratna Sadavarte were produced before the court on Saturday, a few workers were found waiting outside for news of their fate. Around 5 pm, as the court sent Sadavarte to two days of police custody and others to judicial custody, those waiting outside came out in support of the lawyer, saying that he is being penalised for supporting striking staffers who were neglected by the government.
“They didn’t come to help us or talk to us when were peacefully protesting since the last five months. They neglected us and now they are quick to send our colleagues to jail. Where were they for five months? We didn’t attack any place, we were just protesting. The government is playing politics and putting pressure on us to end the strike,” said a woman.
Around 6 pm, the Azad Maidan police detained four more women MSRTC staffers after they started raising slogans outside the court premises in support of Jayashri Patil, wife of Sadavarte.
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