Civil rights activist Teesta Setalvad was reportedly detained by the police at Varanasi on Monday. She had come to the city to attend a youth training camp programme organised by a political party called Samajwadi Jan Parishad, and was scheduled to give a speech on the topic “communalism and education”.
Detained under section 151 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Setalvad was eventually released around 7 pm.
Setalvad’s arrest comes in a context when Varanasi has been in the news for the crackdown on the students of Banaras Hindu University (BHU) after they staged a protest against the authority’s inaction on a sexual abuse complaint by a student. The protest against the alleged molestation of the student inside the campus turned violent as police lathi-charged protesting students on Saturday.
Setalvad alleged that she was detained without any particular reason being given and probably because she was suspected of taking part in the protests at BHU. But she denied having any plans to go to the University, as she was quoted by The Times of India as saying:
I made it clear to them that I am not here to go to BHU, but to attend a programme that was scheduled a month ago. Yet they forced me to leave Varanasi.Teesta Setalvad
Setalvad had told The Wire:
I had come to Varanasi for a meeting which was planned one and a half months ago. But I was surprised to see local policemen accosting me quite rudely at the luggage counter of the airport. They did not let me out of the airport, following which I had an argument with them.Teesta Setalvad
Cantonment inspector Fareed Khan told TOI that Setalvad's detention was on the grounds that there may be a disturbance to peace.
On the other hand, Satyendra Tiwari, circle officer-in-charge of the BHU area, did not offer any confirmation on Setalvad’s detention, but instead said that some Samajwadi Party activists were arrested on Monday morning as they tried to enter the BHU campus by force.
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