Actor Imran Khan was among the 400 people detained by the Mumbai Police on Saturday in connection with participation in an anti-CEC protest at August Kranti Maidan. The actor was later released along with his girlfriend, Lekha Washington, and cousin Zayn Marie Khan. However, videos shared by protesters detained along with him show that police tried to stop him from leaving.
Imran Khan confronts cops
A series of videos shared by a protester named Lalit Sharma, who was also detained in Mumbai on Saturday, show Imran having various exchanges with the police officers. In the first video, Imran walks off into a dimly lit lane, with cops surrounding him. At one point, the police personnel try to form a human chain to stop him. Lekha and Zayn are seen in the video recording all this and asking the policemen to provide them with a warrant or proper documents. The next video shows the police personnel walking back as Imran waves to them and loudly exclaims, “Jai Hind!”
Lalit, whose Instagram profile lists him as a lawyer in the Bombay High Court, later spoke to Imran in a third video where the actor detailed his experience after being detained. “I honestly don’t know why I have been brought here. They picked us all off the streets. They said gaadi mein baitho (sit in the van). I thought it must be a very nice car from the inside, that’s why they are excited,” the actor said. Imran added that he and his companions were driven around in the police van for about two hours before being released at an undisclosed location.
The anti-CEC protest in Mumbai
Hundreds of people were detained at August Kranti Maidan, the proposed protest venue, and Nana Chowk in the vicinity. August Kranti Maidan holds historical significance as the site from which the Quit India Movement was launched in 1942. The gathering had been called by Tushar Gandhi, great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, in support of the CJP’s demand for the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar amid a row over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Tushar Gandhi was detained while heading towards the site and was later released by the Mumbai Police. The police informed that over 400 people were detained in the city during the demonstration.
Mumbai Police have since registered an FIR at Gamdevi Police Station under Sections 223 (disobedience to an order), 126(2) (wrongful restraint), 189(2) (unlawful assembly), 189(3) and 189(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Mumbai Police said on Saturday. Police personnel themselves were the complainants.
(With ANI inputs)