Mumbai: Stand-up comedian Masoom Rajwani and several others were detained by Mumbai Police on Sunday 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 taken into preventive custody 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 B R Ambedkar, the chief architect of the Indian Constitution.
Those detained at Chaityabhoomi include stand-up comedian Masoom Rajwani and others, the police official said, adding that the gatherings lacked necessary permissions and 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.
The detainees include tribal students and protesters.
The protesters had planned to hold a 'Janakrosh Morcha' to demand the resignation of Maharashtra Tribal Development Minister Ashok Uike, the tribal development department's commissioner and secretary, they said.
The youth workers said police detained students at Dadar railway station and near Tilak Bhavan before they could reach the proposed protest venue. Police personnel were also deployed at railway stations and bus stops along routes leading to Shivaji Park.
The students had been protesting for the past two months over their demands, but the tribal development department had not addressed their grievances, according to the youth workers.
The protesters had sought permission to hold a demonstration at Azad Maidan, but police denied it. They were also not granted permission for Sunday's march at Shivaji Park, following which they had announced that they would proceed with the protest, they said.
Police had deployed a heavy security contingent at Shivaji Park ahead of the planned march. Plainclothes personnel were also present at Dadar railway station, the youth workers said.
Police detained some students and protesters before they could reach the proposed venue, citing security reasons, they said.
The students are demanding improvements in the condition of tribal schools and the scrapping of the contract system for centralised kitchens in tribal residential schools, among other measures.
The planned march could not take place following the detentions, the youth workers added.