The Mumbai Police has violated the fundamental rights guaranteed under the Article 19 of the Constitution by detaining Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad and other party workers here and keeping them under house arrest, Dalit outfit's legal counsel Nitin Satpute has said.
"The police have refused permission to conduct the public meeting in Worli and thereafter Chandrashekhar Azad and other party workers have been detained by the police and they are not allowed to move anywhere, they are not allowed to go and pay tribute to Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar. They are not allowed to go to Bhima-Koregaon to pay tribute to the martyrs," Satpute told ANI.
The Bhim Army was slated to hold public meetings at the Jambori Maidan in Mumbai's Worli area and at the Shri Shivaji Preparatory Military School (SSPMS) ground in Pune, ahead of the January 1 anniversary of the Bhima-Koregaon violence.
However, in a letter on December 29, the All India Shri Shivaji Memorial Society (AISSMS), which runs the SSPMS, had denied the Bhim Army permission to hold a public rally at the ground.
Satpute further said that the Bhim Army had sought permission from the police to conduct meeting in Pune in October, adding that the police have not replied to the application yet.
"They have not allowed or denied the permission. Today the meeting was scheduled. The Bhim Army is in an ambiguous state. They are not aware if they can conduct the meeting or not. The police are confusing the Bhim Army and are implicating its workers in false cases," Satpute added.
He added that this was a "clear-cut case of the violation of the fundamental rights" guaranteed under the Article 19 of the Constitution and that they have moved a writ petition in the Bombay High Court regarding the same. Satpute confirmed that the party has sought Rs 10 crore as compensation for each individual detained by the police.
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