Tribal students seeking to protest scholarship delays detained in Mumbai: Congress

The Maharashtra Congress on Monday alleged that police stopped and detained several tribal students who had come to Mumbai to hold a protest at Azad Maidan, demanding the resignation of the tribal development minister.

The party said the students had been protesting for more than 10 days over scholarships, the lack of basic amenities in ashram schools and hostels, and other issues.

In a statement, the Congress said the students had travelled to Mumbai by bus and on foot and that their voices could not be silenced through threats.

Targeting Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, the party said, "Threatening students and using police force instead of seriously considering their issues amounts to suppressing democratic values." It also said it would stand with tribal students in the "fight for their legitimate rights".

According to the Congress, the students were seeking the resignation of the tribal development minister and the department's commissioner for failing to address their concerns. The party claimed the students were threatened with police cases, a bus carrying them was taken into custody, and Mumbai Police stopped them around 3 am, took their photographs and detained them.

The Congress condemned the action, saying the students had come to protest peacefully and democratically over their demands.

In a separate statement, Maharashtra Congress president Harshvardhan Sapkal alleged that police used force and tried to forcibly enter the party's Tilak Bhavan office, where tribal students from Nashik were staying after marching on foot to Mumbai. He claimed police personnel had been entering the office since midnight, threatening the students and trying to take them into custody.

Sapkal demanded that the police immediately stop what he described as illegal entry into the office and attempts to threaten and forcibly detain the students. "It is a serious matter if the police, who are responsible for maintaining law and order, themselves violate the law," he said.

He also said the Congress would not allow any attempt to suppress the voice of tribal students and would continue to stand with them over their demands.