Uttar Pradesh: Cops stop anti-CAA protesters in Shahjahanpur

SHAHJAHANPUR: Police on Sunday thwarted attempts of Congress and social organizations to assemble a gathering in order to stage an anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act protest without taking permission of the district administration by preventing most of the protesters from reaching Shaheed Park here on Sunday.
Police took proactive measures by barricading sensitive spots to prevent protesters from outside the district from entering the city.The curbs were in place on Saturday itself, with police checking vehicles at sensitive spots. Hotel owners were asked to provide information about “suspicious” guests on their premises. A heavy force was deployed to patrol railway stations and bus stands.
In-charge of local intelligence unit CB Singh and his team made sure that all the sensitive information was gathered and shared with senior officials to tackle any untoward situation, if any.
As a result of the strict vigilance, only 250 protesters, mostly Congress workers, gathered outside Shaheed Park, which is almost opposite the party office, and shouted anti-CAA slogans.
Meanwhile, Tasneem Ali Khan, outgoing president of the Congress city unit who had planned to lead the protest, told TOI, “It was a protest called for the people of India against CAA. People of every community supported us. We were expecting nearly 10,000 people but police barricaded most of the entrance points. We wanted to take out a peaceful march from Shaheed Park to Clock Tower but police did not give us permission, citing that section 144 of the CrPC is imposed in the district. However, BJP, led by state minister and local MLA Suresh Khanna, was granted permission to take out a march in favour of CAA. We were discriminated. We are ready to face any action because we know that we didn’t do any wrong.”
Additional SP (City) Dinesh Tripathi said, “We ensured that peace was maintained during the protest and several protesters changed their mind after we informed them that the district administration had not granted permission for the protest. We are identifying people who joined the protest and will be booking them for violating section 144.”