The city police on Tuesday sent a Kerala-based activist packing while refusing her permission to sit on hunger strike against construction of a wall by the municipal corporation. The construction of this wall has hit controversy with allegations surfacing that it was built to hide a slum ahead of US President Donald Trump's visit on February 24.
The activist Ashwathy Jwala, a resident of Trivendrum in Kerala who runs an NGO Jwala Foundation, was picked up by Sardarnagar police on Tuesday evening for sitting on hunger strike without police permission at Saraniya Vaas near Indira Bridge. She told DH that the reports of construction of a wall to "cover slum" pained her so much that she decided to come to the city and protest against it.
"I started my protest on Monday evening at 5 PM. On Tuesday evening at 7 PM, a police team came and detained me after asking if I had police permission to stage protest. They told me leave and get permission since I didn't have one. I had tried to get permission but was refused. Because of the police action I am going back home but it is so painful to see the wall that has already been erected," she said.
When contacted, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Zone-4, Neeraj Badgujar said, "She was not detained at all. Since she didn't have permission, we asked her to get permission. There are prohibitory orders already in place that bars such activity without police permission."
Rahul Saraniya, a resident of Saraniya Vaas, said, "She came yesterday evening and sat near the wall with a poster. She was taken by police. She was not from our village still she came to support us and didn't eat for a two days. Please find out where she was taken."
Jwala sat near the wall with a placard which read, "This is our India Our Real India. Don't hide our India. Expose our India and work towards making it better. Hiding our Indian people behind walls Unconstitutional...Wake Up and Work Together."