Guj: Protest outside IIMA to support Jamia students; 50 held

Around 50 people who gathered outside the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA) complex here on Monday afternoon to protest against police action on Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) students a day earlier in Delhi were detained, an official said.

Along with activists, including Shamshad Pathan of Alp-Sankhyak Adhikar Manch, several faculty members, students of IIMA, CEPT University and other prominent institutions were also taken into custody for agitating on the footpath outside IIMA.

Noted activist and classical dancer Mallika Sarabhai also took part in the demonstration, but she was not among those who were detained.

The official said the protesters, mainly from outfits like Alpsankhyak Adhikar Manch and ANHAD, besides other NGOs and civic rights groups, did not have permission to assemble at the place, adding that they would be released soon.

"We have detained 50 protesters for not taking permission to assemble at the place, which is near a road. They were causing a traffic jam. They will be released soon," Inspector H M Vyas of Gujarat University police station said.

Activist Dev Desai said that besides activists, several faculty members, students of IIMA, CEPT University and other prominent institutions were detained for holding protests on the footpath outside IIMA.

Police and JMI students protesting against the amended Citizenship Act had clashed on Mathura Road in southeast Delhi on Sunday evening.

The new citizenship law grants Indian citizenship to persecuted religious minorities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, excluding Muslims.