More than 3,000 protesters gathered in Mumbai’s Dadar and Chembur areas on Wednesday during the third day of NEET paper leak protests, according to organisers and reports. Police said around 1,500 people gathered at Shivaji Park and about 200 were detained after no permission was granted. Demonstrators demanded accountability and education reforms while political leaders joined the protests.
The ongoing agitation against the national NEET paper leak escalated dramatically on Wednesday as over 3,000 demonstrators, predominantly students and young activists, took to the streets of Dadar and Chembur. Reaching a flashpoint on its third day, the movement – aligned with the nationwide campaign spearheaded by the Cockroach Janata Party – saw widespread calls for systemic educational reforms and the immediate resignation of the union education minister.
Heavy police bandobast at Shivaji Park, Sena Bhavan, and Veer Savarkar Marg
Despite a heavy police crackdown and preventive detentions across key transit hubs, thousands of youths echoed the spirit of Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, effectively turning central and eastern Mumbai into ground zero for student activism. Several protesters, who had participated in the gatherings over the last two days, alleged that they were kept under house arrest by the local police at their respective residences. Tensions flared early in the afternoon as law enforcement deployed heavy bandobast around high-profile locations, including Shivaji Park, Sena Bhavan, and Veer Savarkar Marg.
Young protesters alleged that the police stationed themselves at critical exit points of the Dadar Metro Station and profiled every young individual, intercepting anyone who "appeared to be a demonstrator." One of the young protesters told The Free Press Journal on the condition of anonymity that, “My friends and I took the metro to join the demonstration but officers intercepted us immediately upon exiting. When we admitted why we were there, they prevented us from reaching the venue, took our details, and called our parents to send us home."
-
Mexican goalkeeping legend Guillermo Ochoa retires at 41, joining Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in World Cup history
-
KTR chooses NEET protest in Hyderabad over birthday celebrations
-
Pakistan seeks USD 10bn from US after Iran mediation role: Report
-
UCC in MP will protect rights of all citizens: CM
-
Opposition MPs protests on Parliament premises
