AHMEDABAD, India: Amid the visit of the US President Donald Trump, the Indian authorities have further intensified the clampdown on dissidents who raised their voices against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
The Indian Western State of Gujrat has been witnessing more raids and arrests of protesters, wherein Donald Trump along his wife Melania Trump arrived earlier in the day for a two-day visit.
In a bid to quell the voices of anti-CAA and NRC protesters, the Gujarat Crime Branch arrested the human rights activist Dev Desai from his home last night.
Dev Desai, who is an Anhad’s Gujarat Coordinator and Anhad’s Trustee, was called by the Crime Branch on Sunday for queries about whether he was planning a protest on the eve of Trump’s visit to Ahmedabad. Though Dev Desai replied with no but yet he was picked up at 1:40 am (IST) from his home by the Gujarat Crime Branch. Meanwhile, Dev Desai’s family remains clueless about his whereabouts.
Dev Desai has been at the forefront of most of the anti-CAA and NRC protests in recent days. His arrest caused a storm in social media where the people strongly condemned the illegal act by the Indian authorities. The people also expressed anguish over his arrest ahead of Trump’s visit, and demanded his immediate release.
Meanwhile, in the ongoing clashes between police and protestors in Jafrabad and Maujpur areas of New Delhi, 15 more people including six policemen were injured.
The protestors hurled stones and vandalized the vehicles and shops in the area, forcing the people to use tear gas shells to disperse them.
