Mumbai police detain students, activists at two separate protests in Dadar

Mumbai: Two separate student-led protests in Dadar were disrupted by police on Sunday, with over 140 students and activists detained at Shivaji Park and Chaityabhoomi.

At Shivaji Park, police detained around 120 tribal students who had gathered to demand the resignation of Maharashtra tribal development minister Ashok Uike over deteriorating conditions in residential schools and the alleged deaths of 584 students.

The protesters, who had been agitating since Aug, were returning to Mumbai after an earlier demonstration on Oct 5 ended with police detaining them and sending them back to their hometowns in Nashik, Nandurbar and Jalgaon.

Heavy police deployment prevented Sunday’s protest from taking place. Students said they would continue their agitation at Azad Maidan on Monday.

Nearby, police detained 20 to 25 Ambedkarite activists and students who had assembled at Chaityabhoomi for a candlelight vigil in memory of Sahil Wakode, an IIT-Bombay student whose death by suicide in Sept has triggered allegations of caste discrimination.