AAP protesters detained in Mumbai

AAP Mumbai President Preeti Sharma Menon and party workers being detained by the police near the ED office. Pic/Satej Shinde

As news broke of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's arrest in an alleged liquor scam late Thursday evening, several leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) came out in protest in Mumbai. According to the police, numerous AAP leaders had gathered near the Enforcement Directorate (ED) office in Mumbai around 11 pm to stage their protest. The MRA Marg police booked 10 AAP leaders, who were subsequently presented in court on Friday.

According to the police, AAP leaders Preeti Sharma Menon, Ruben Mascarehas, Pius Verghese, Manu Pillai, Suresh Acharya, Aditya Paul, Sajid Waheed Khan, Sundar Padmukh, Atanyu Mukherjee, and Sudesh Patel were among those detained by the MRA Marg police. "Ten AAP leaders were produced in court, granted bail, and subsequently released," Senior PI Santosh Dhanvate of the MRA Marg police station said.

"The judge refuted the allegations made by the police, stating that the right to protest is a fundamental right of citizens while dismissing the case as we were carrying out the protest peacefully," said Mascarenhas.

AAP leaders alleged they were manhandled by the police while being detained; (right) An AAP leader was allegedly punched in the nose by a cop, causing it to bleed. Pics/Satej Shinde

Preeti Sharma Menon, AAP Mumbai president, told mid-day: "A total of 60 individuals were detained last night, but a case was registered against only 10 of us. The Mazagaon court released us on bail, affirming that protesting is a citizen's constitutional right."

According to Menon, the party workers were subjected to physical assault. "Our leader Aslam Merchant was punched in the nose by an inspector, resulting in severe bleeding. We were transferred from one police station to another, eventually ending up at Azad Maidan police station, where we were left without basic amenities such as light, fans, chairs, or toilets. Even a simple mat to sit on was denied to us. When we requested to use the benches, we were met with further aggression by the police officers."

Speaking further, Menon said that an officer, Vishal Kasar who was in civilian attire, pushed her to the ground and it was evident that he had consumed alcohol "due to the smell of his breath".

"Amid the chaos, the clothes of our female leader, Neeta Sukhtankar, were torn up. Upon being taken to St George's Hospital for medical examination, the so-called doctor recorded blood pressure readings without actually checking our BP. When we protested this falsification, a woman constable tore up the evidence. Detaining women throughout the night is unconstitutional as well. This is all from just one night! We have never before experienced such callous and disproportionate use of force by the Mumbai police."

A source from AAP disclosed, "We had planned a protest starting from Eros theatre towards the BJP office at 2.00 pm, but due to unforeseen circumstances, the protest was called off. The 10 AAP leaders detained on Thursday night were granted bail by the Mazagaon court."

Senior police officers refuted Menon's allegations. "The allegations made by the leader are without foundation," said an officer.

In response to the allegations, Dr Pravin Munde (DCP, Zone-I), said, "An offence for unlawful assembly and protesting without permission has been registered against AAP party activists by the MRA Marg police. As per the law, they were forcibly taken into custody as they did not obey police instructions. They were all subjected to medical examinations."

Meanwhile, Advocate Sandeep Katke who defended the AAP leaders in the Mazagaon court, said the detention was illegal. "The sections added are of the British era when the Act was enacted to prevent the Bengal agitators. They felt that their party chief was wrongly arrested and therefore they were protesting. But even before the protest occurred, they were detained by the police. None of them have a criminal background."

60
No. of AAP party workers allegedly detained