Women start indefinite dharna against citizenship law at Aligarh Eidgah

Women protesting against the new citizenship law have sat on an indefinite dharna at Eidgah in Aligarh with the police booking 250 of them for unlawful assembly on Thursday.

The police have named nine women in the FIR, leaving others unidentified.

The women have been charged under IPC sections 145, 147 and 188, SP City Abhishek Kumar said. Section 145 relates to unlawful assembly, 147 to rioting and 188 to disobedience to order issued by a public servant.

The protest began late Wednesday afternoon and by evening a large number of people joined it, despite the police administration trying to deter them from violating Section 144 of the CrPC that prohibits public gatherings.

The protestors spent the night at Eidgah and Thursday morning they were joined by other women from neighbouring localities.

Last week, hundreds of women held a similar protest at the same place after the district authorities gave permission for a two-day dharna. The protest ended after two days.