Delhi Police cancels Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani's public meet over 'security concerns'

NEW DELHI: After Mumbai, the Delhi Police on Monday denied permission to a public meeting that was scheduled to be addressed by newly-elected Gujarat MLA and Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani on Tuesday. 

The police denied the permission to the meet under Section 144 and claimed that the decision was taken to maintain law and order in the national capital ahead of the Republic Day.

Jignesh was likely to raise issues like land, dignity and education in his public meet today. 

One day to #YuvaRally

Hear youth leaders Jignesh Mevani from Gujarat, Akhil Gogoi from Assam, Manoj Manzil from Bihar, Pooja Shukla from Lucknow - all incarcerated for raising issues of land, dignity, education - tomorrow at Parliament street 12 noon onwards#FreeChandrashekhar pic.twitter.com/xMycJjxYTs — Shehla Rashid (@Shehla_Rashid) January 8, 2018

Earlier on January 4, the Mumbai Police had denied permission to a summit that was to be addressed by Mevani and JNU student Umar Khalid. Several students were detained who had gathered outside a hall for the event and protested against the police for not giving permission for the programme. 

Had booked Bhaidas Hall for All India National Students' Summit here today, but now we are being denied entry. Reason police is citing is the news doing the rounds about Umar Khalid and Jignesh Mewani for the past few days: Sagar Bhalerao (Chhatra Bharati,VP), Organiser #Mumbai pic.twitter.com/4Fg3mSP6wq — ANI (@ANI) January 4, 2018

The authorities also detained the organisers of the event - Sachin Bansode, president of Chhatra Bharati, his deputy Sagar Bhalerao and an MLC  Kapil. 

The Pune Police had earlier said that they had received a complaint against Mevani and Khalid for their 'provocative' speeches at an event in Pune on December 31.

Mevani and Khalid had attended the 'Elgar Parishad', an event organised to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the battle of Bhima-Koregaon, at Shaniwar Wada in Pune.

Violence erupted in Pune district when Dalit groups were celebrating the bicentenary of the Bhima-Koregaon battle in which the forces of the British East India Company defeated the Peshwa’s Army.

Several towns and cities in Maharashtra were on edge on Tuesday as Dalit protests against Monday's deadly violence in Pune spilled over to capital Mumbai, with agitators damaging scores of buses, and disrupting road and rail traffic.

Over 160 buses were damaged in Mumbai by rampaging protesters, of which 100 were detained.