The police claimed that the arrests were made because the activists were holding the protest without due permission from the authorities
Team Clarion
MUMBAI — Even as the Israeli onslaught on innocent civilians in the Gaza Strip has evoked a worldwide outrage, police in Mumbai’s Mankhurd area arrested two Revolutionary Workers’ Party of India (RWPI) activists for holding a pro-Palestine protest.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the Maharashtra unit of the RWPI said Suprith Lad and Ruchir Ravish, two of its members, were arrested by the Mankhurd police for participating in a protest against the Israeli bombing of civilian targets in Gaza.
The party alleged that Ruchir was particularly targeted and subjected to brutal physical violence. He was beaten severely by the Mankhurd police, including Assistant Sub-Inspector Sushant Salvi and other officers with belts, sticks, and lathis. Ruchir sustained multiple injuries and he bled profusely from his mouth. He was not provided any medical treatment for several hours, the party claimed.
Suprith is a mathematics teacher while Ruchir is an architect by profession. The two have been booked under the Indian Penal Code’s sections relating to unlawful assembly, disobeying a public servant’s order and for using force on a public servant.
On Sunday, the activists were produced before a court here.
The party said the police have not yet provided it with an FIR and remand application.
Ruchir showed his injuries to the court which ordered an investigation. Ruchir also requested a medical examination as well as immediate transfer of his case to an appropriate court. Then, he was taken to Arthur Road Jail, the party said.
The police claimed that the arrests were made because the two were holding the protest without due permission from the authorities.
“They did not intimidate us about any public gathering in this regard either. Even if they had asked for permission, they would have been told to go to Azad Maidan for the protest, as such activities are no longer permitted at any other place in the city,” a police officer was quoted by Hindustan Times as saying.
The officer refuted the allegations of assault. “They were refusing to enter the police van even after being told that charges would be pressed against them,” he said. “In order to get them in, one of our officers pushed them inside. This caused one person’s head to hit the roof of the van, which hurt him. But it was not an intentional act of violence against them.”
The RWPI and other organisations such as Naujawan Bharat Sabha, Disha Students’ Organisation, Stree Mukti League, along with Indian People in Solidarity with Palestine had given a countrywide call for protest demonstrations against “the ongoing genocide of innocent Palestinians in Gaza by the Zionist Israeli state” on Friday.
The protests were held at various places in New Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune, Allahabad, Patna, Benaras, Vizag, Chandigarh and several cities of Haryana. However, at several places the authorities clamped down heavily on the demonstrators and prevented them from taking part in the protests.
“The bonhomie that Indian fascists share with Israeli Zionists is for everyone to see. The Modi government everywhere swung into action in no time and preemptively tried to contain the situation by detaining and arresting activists of RWPI and other organisations, placing them under house arrest, and breaking up protests within minutes,” said the RWPI.