A candle light march at India Gate demanding justice for late Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula was today foiled as they had not taken permission and several protesters were detained following which his mother Radhika lit candles outside the Tilak Marg police station.
"We were doing a peaceful candle march at India Gate and my mother and female protesters were dragged by police," Rohith's younger brother Raja said.
The detained persons were taken to Tilak Marg police station in the afternoon and released after nearly an hour.
While detained persons were inside the police station, Rohith's mother lit candles outside the station demanding their release.
CPI MP D Raja also arrived at the police station to talk to the police over the issue.
"The protesters had not sought permission from the police, so we detained around 70-80 of them from India Gate when they tried to go ahead to hold the event. They were flouting Section 144 of the IPC. We released them after an hour," said a senior police official of Tilak Marg police station.
Students from different universities, including Hyderabad Central University and JNU had planned to hold the event under the banner, Joint Action Committee for Social Justice.
The event was announced from the dais at Jantar Mantar yesterday where a public rally was held demanding justice for Rohith, a PhD scholar, who was found hanging in a hostel room at the Hyderabad Central University campus on January 17.
