<p>Police threatened to crackdown on a protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), at Tannery Road in Pillanna Garden, after it exceeded 60 hours on Monday afternoon. <br /><br />K G Halli police said they would start folding up the protest site after 5 pm. "We will try to talk people into leaving. It will be peaceful," the K G Halli Police Inspector said.<br /><br />However, protesters at the rally, which has become the longest, continuous CAA-related event in the city so far, said they would not budge.<br /><br />Although the police crackdown failed to materialize at 5 pm, community organizers said that the police had taken a different tack on matters, by ratcheting up pressure against the owner of a shamiana erected to shelter the site on 9th Main Road, and a carpenter shop owner who supplied the audio equipment.<br /><br />“Police have told them that they will impound the shamiana and the mic system, and now the owners are asking us to remove these before the police can act on their threats,” a community organizer said.<br /><br />The owner of the Shamiana who gave his name as Imran, corroborated this statement. "Police suggested that I take down the tent, for now, to help resume the flow of traffic in the area. They said we could resume the protest in a few days," he said.<br /><br />Despite repeated attempts, DCP (East) S D Sharanappa could not be reached for a comment about these allegations.<br /><br />When Imran was asked what he intended to do, he appeared conflicted. "When we started the protest, we and the surrounding business owners who closed their shops for the rally were given a timeframe of three days. Maybe we should wrap it up and come back a few days later," he added. <br /><br />Several activists decried this option. "These are consistent lies by the police. They always say you can come back but they take steps to ensure that you don't. These kinds of false promises have been repeatedly made," said Saqib Idrees, 25, a college student who helped organize the event.<br /><br />The rally, which began on Saturday, had an initial mandate of three days, although local community organizers said they intended to make it indefinite, along the lines of Delhi's Shaheen Bagh protest.</p>
<p>Police threatened to crackdown on a protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), at Tannery Road in Pillanna Garden, after it exceeded 60 hours on Monday afternoon. <br /><br />K G Halli police said they would start folding up the protest site after 5 pm. "We will try to talk people into leaving. It will be peaceful," the K G Halli Police Inspector said.<br /><br />However, protesters at the rally, which has become the longest, continuous CAA-related event in the city so far, said they would not budge.<br /><br />Although the police crackdown failed to materialize at 5 pm, community organizers said that the police had taken a different tack on matters, by ratcheting up pressure against the owner of a shamiana erected to shelter the site on 9th Main Road, and a carpenter shop owner who supplied the audio equipment.<br /><br />“Police have told them that they will impound the shamiana and the mic system, and now the owners are asking us to remove these before the police can act on their threats,” a community organizer said.<br /><br />The owner of the Shamiana who gave his name as Imran, corroborated this statement. "Police suggested that I take down the tent, for now, to help resume the flow of traffic in the area. They said we could resume the protest in a few days," he said.<br /><br />Despite repeated attempts, DCP (East) S D Sharanappa could not be reached for a comment about these allegations.<br /><br />When Imran was asked what he intended to do, he appeared conflicted. "When we started the protest, we and the surrounding business owners who closed their shops for the rally were given a timeframe of three days. Maybe we should wrap it up and come back a few days later," he added. <br /><br />Several activists decried this option. "These are consistent lies by the police. They always say you can come back but they take steps to ensure that you don't. These kinds of false promises have been repeatedly made," said Saqib Idrees, 25, a college student who helped organize the event.<br /><br />The rally, which began on Saturday, had an initial mandate of three days, although local community organizers said they intended to make it indefinite, along the lines of Delhi's Shaheen Bagh protest.</p>
