Former IAS officer Kannan Gopinathan, who was detained while he was on his way to attend a protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) was released late Saturday evening, reported The Leaflet.
Gopinathan confirmed the news on Twitter:
Released on personal bond. Now being escorted out till the border of Independent Banana Republic of Uttar Pradesh. https://t.co/AVIG1lfKj1
— Kannan Gopinathan (@naukarshah) January 4, 2020
Gopinathan, who who resigned from his post as a secretary in the administrations of two Union Territories over the Centre's abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir in August, tweeted on Saturday afternoon that he had been detained by the police.
— Kannan Gopinathan (@naukarshah) January 4, 2020
Later, he shared a picture of the order which he said was used to detain him. The order shared by Gopinathan is from the office of the District Magistrate of Aligarh and instructs the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) to ensure that Gopinathan does not enter the district. Citing previous incidents, the order stated that the law and order situation was compromised during similar visits by Swaraj India leader Yogendra Yadav and Dr Kafeel Khan.
This is the order shared by the CO. pic.twitter.com/7k90BNG441
— Kannan Gopinathan (@naukarshah) January 4, 2020
The former IAS officer kept posting updates about his whereabouts, stating that he had been taken to a hotel instead of a police station.
Being taken to a hotel it seems. Not thana. Don't know why..
— Kannan Gopinathan (@naukarshah) January 4, 2020
He added that the order used to detain him was limited to Aligarh district but he was detained in Agra.
Being taken to another place from here. Guest house it seems — Kannan Gopinathan (@naukarshah) January 4, 2020
Gopinathan, who has been participating in protests against the amended citizenship law across the country, was reportedly on his way to attend a event against the CAA, the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the National Population Register (NPR) organised by the Resident Doctors' Association at AMU. Former secretary general of TISS Student's Union Fahad Ahmed, Kavita Krishnan-Secretary of the All India Progressive Women's Association were also slated to attend the event.
A report by The Indian Express said that Ahmed was also detained by the police while he was on his way to the university.
The 2012-batch IAS officer had claimed that the Aligarh district administration had asked on Friday asked him not to attend the event. However, he had said that he would go to Aligarh.
"I will be going to Aligarh. Administration is free to do as they deem fit," he had tweeted.
Got a call from Aligarh District administration asking me not to come for the event.
That they got direction from state govt to not let the event happen and to prevent my entry into district.
I will be going to Aligarh. Administration is free to do as they deem fit. #Resistance https://t.co/XKkBHPRnqN
— Kannan Gopinathan (@naukarshah) January 3, 2020
Prominent activists, including Krishnan, Supreme Court advocate Prashant Bhushan and student leader Umar Khalid tweeted in Gopinathan's support after he was unreachable and he stopped tweeting.
We are trying to trace @naukarshah Kannan Gopinathan.He was detained by UP police this morning near Agra. His phone is unresponsive. Police is bound to tell his family where he is. If this is how they treat an ex-IAS imagine the plight of common man in UP. #WhereIsKannan https://t.co/T45mMBfGJ5
— Umar Khalid (@UmarKhalidJNU) January 4, 2020
Hey @agrapolice @UPPolice #WhereIsKannan? How come he doesn't have his phone on him? If you've arrested him why the secrecy? Why isn't his family informed? Are you holding him, an IAS officer in illegal custody? @IASassociation pl join us in asking #WhereIsKannan https://t.co/x99G9oMpHE
— Kavita Krishnan (@kavita_krishnan) January 4, 2020
Gopinathan, who was the Secretary, Power department of the Union territories of Daman and Diu, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli, had submitted his resignation to the home ministry on 21 August, over the denial of "freedom of expression" to the people of Jammu and Kashmir following the abrogation of Article 370 on 5 August.
The 32-year-old officer had first come into limelight when he hid his identity and joined in relief work during the 2018 Kerala floods.
With inputs from PTI
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Updated Date: Jan 04, 2020 21:19:16 IST
