Mumbai, Oct 6 (PTI) Police on Tuesday detained tribal students who had marched from Nashik to press for better hostel facilities and an inquiry into deaths at ashram schools, bundling them into buses outside the Maharashtra Congress headquarters and driving them out of the city.
The students, who were taking shelter at the Opposition party’s headquarters, Tilak Bhavan in Dadar, since Monday after being denied permission to assemble at Azad Maidan, had sought to meet Governor Jishnu Dev Varma to submit a memorandum.
They began their march from Nashik on September 28, pressing for various demands, including better facilities, a probe into student deaths in tribal schools, and the resignation of the tribal development minister.
On Monday, the Maharashtra Congress alleged that police had stopped several tribal students who had come to Mumbai to stage a protest at Azad Maidan and detained them in the early hours of the day. Police, however, denied any arrests.
According to the Congress, tribal students have been protesting for over 10 days, seeking redressal of their various demands regarding scholarships, lack of basic amenities in ashram schools, hostels, among other issues.
Police personnel were deployed outside Tilak Bhavan to prevent students from leaving the premises, and subsequently, they were put into private buses and driven out of the city, officials said.
Several videos of the incident have surfaced on social media, in which police can be seen bundling tribal students into vehicles.
Before their removal from the city, the protesting students vowed to return to Mumbai on October 25 to resume their agitation. PTI ZA ARU
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