Masoom Rajwani among 140 detained at vigil for Sahil Wakode
Mumbai: Stand-up comedian Masoom Rajwani and several others were detained by Mumbai Police on Sunday, October 25, for participating in a candlelight vigil in memory of IIT Bombay student Sahil Wakode, who died by suicide last month, an official said.
Altogether, 140 people were detained at Shivaji Park and Chaityabhoomi.
Among them, approximately 120 individuals assembled at Shivaji Park for an unauthorised ‘Adivasi Gen Z’ protest were rounded up and taken to the local police station.
Separately, police detained 20 to 25 people gathered at Chaityabhoomi in Dadar for an unauthorised candle march in memory of Wakode, the police official said.
Chaityabhoomi is the cremation site of D. B. R. Ambedkar, the chief architect of the Indian Constitution.
Those detained at Chaityabhoomi include stand-up comedian Masoom Rajwani, the police official said, adding that the gatherings lacked necessary permissions and that precautions were being taken to maintain law and order in the area.
The process of completing official formalities and releasing the detainees is currently underway, he added.
Wakode was found hanging in his hostel room on September 18, hours after he was allegedly caught using a mobile phone during a mid-semester examination.
His parents and student groups had alleged that he had faced torture and caste-based discrimination.
A police complaint was filed naming professor Suryanarayana Doolla and invoking provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act alongside abetment of suicide.
The Mumbai Crime Branch recorded statements of over 40 people in the case.
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