‘Mumbai Bagh’ protesters accuse cops of manhandling them for putting up tarpaulin shade; police denies allegations

Mumbai: Women protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) at ‘Mumbai Bagh’ in Nagpada area of south Mumbai accused the police of manhandling them.

The protesters claimed that the police had objected to a temporary shade put up by them at the protest site. The police, however, denied the allegation.

Hundreds of women have been sitting in protest at Morland road in Nagpada since 26 January against the Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens.

The incident took place in the early hours of Friday when some protesters put up a tarpaulin shade to protect themselves from the sun, a protester said.

The police personnel, who were deployed at the site, took objection and tried removing the shade, following which a heated argument ensued and some protesters were manhandled, she alleged.

The police, however, denied the allegation, saying they had examined the video footages from the site and the incident has not been confirmed as yet.

Following the incident, residents of Nagpada and Madanpura gathered at ‘Mumbai Bagh’ and demanded action against the concerned police officials.

A delegation of protesters also met additional commissioner of police (Central Region) Viresh Prabhu and senior police officials seeking action against the concerned police personnel.