Efficient handling by police ensures Maratha protest in heart of Mumbai remains peaceful

Mumbai, Sep 2 (PTI) Despite thousands of Maratha community members converging in south Mumbai to take part in Manoj Jarange-led quota protest, the city police's efficient and tactful handling of the crowd ensured the situation remained largely peaceful and never went out of control during the five day-long stir.

No untoward incident was registered during the entire protest held at Azad Maidan, located close to the iconic Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) building.

Jarange began his hunger strike for the Maratha reservation cause on August 29, and called it off on Tuesday afternoon with the state government accepting most of his demands.

As he launched his indefinite fast last week, protesters from across Maharashtra arrived at the venue to express solidarity with him.

They were seen thronging the main junctions in south Mumbai, causing traffic snarls during the morning peak hours. Many of them inside the CSMT complex, even sleeping on the platforms by spreading mats.

Before the scheduled agitations at Azad Maidan, the Mumbai police made preparations in advance about handling the protesters and held meetings with the core team of Jarange, an official said.

Over 1,500 police were deployed at the Azad Maidan along with one company each of CRPF, CISF and RAF along with SRPF, Riot Control Police and Maharashtra Security Force.

The police had given permission for a one-day protest on August 29, allowing only 5,000 protesters for the agitation at Azad Maidan. But as the protests began, over 60,000 persons gathered in the city in 8,000 vehicles, which blocked all the roads leading to the protest site, he said.

The traffic congestion was witnessed in south Mumbai, which led to route diversions.

The police kept monitoring the situation through CCTVs installed in south Mumbai besides using drones, he said.

The protesters were not in a mood of moving out of Azad Maidan till their demands are fulfilled. Sometimes, they were even seen blocking the roads, dancing and playing, cooking food p There were instances wherein the protesters blocked the traffic and were adamant that they would move aside only if Jarange instructs them although senior officers, including Joint Commissioner of Police Satya Narayan Choudhary, Additional CP Abhinav Deshmukh, DCP Pravin Mundhe were seen at the spot.

DCP Pravin Mundhe, immediately made a video call to Jarange, who then asked the protesters to cooperate with the police, following which they moved aside.

In the last five days, there were instances in which various groups of protesters agitated in front of Mantralaya, Bombay Stock Exchange, seen roaming along the Marine Drive, Jahangir Art Gallery, Giragon Chowpatty, Gateway of India, but police were only to control the crowd and seen requesting them to take precautions.

Similar situation was seen at the CSMT, which virtually became a large camp and a shelter point for the agitators. Hundreds of protesters occupied the platforms, due to which the Government Railway Police (GRP) headed by Rakesh Kalasagar put in place adequate security arrangements, the official said.

The Bombay High Court on Monday noted that the city was "literally paralysed" due to the Maratha agitation, which has violated all conditions, and said it was giving an "opportunity" to Jarange and protesters to ensure all streets are vacated and cleaned by Tuesday noon.

"The situation is grim. Every street, especially in the entire region of the Azad Maidan, CST, Mantralaya, Flora Fountain, Marine Drive, P Demello Road, is flooded with protesters who are on the streets, dancing, playing kabbadi, cooking food, bathing on the main roads and so on," the HC said, adding that the city of Mumbai was "literally paralysed".

On Tuesday, it directed Jarange and his supporters to vacate Azad Maidan here by 3 pm or face action.

The court had also directed the government and police to take steps in accordance with law against Jarange and his supporters for violation of the conditions.

Accordingly, the Mumbai police denied permission to extend the protest for one more day and had asked Jarange Patil and his core team to vacate the Azad Maidan at the earliest.

The situation became more tense, when the HC asked the government to clear the roads before 3 pm, following which senior police officials again started going asking the protesters to remove vehicles from the roads in front of Azad Maidan and CSMT station.

Police were seen making announcements on public announcement systems to remove the vehicles and asked them to park their vehicles in Navi Mumbai.

"After the crowd thinned out and protesters vacated the entire Azad Maidan area, Joint Commissioner of Police Satyanarayan Choudhary visited the spot to appreciate the efforts of the police personnel.

"All of you gave your best, you all handled the situation well. I am proud of you all," he told them.

Talking to PTI, another senior police official said, "Despite such large number of protesters gathering around one spot, the situation never really went out of hand. The police managed to handle the situation well and in a skilful manner, which ensured that there was no friction." PTI DC NP