Mumbai Police detain tribal students protesting over poor hostel facilities in ashram schools: Report

Mumbai Police have detained tribal students who organised a march from Nashik to Mumbai to protest against poor hostel facilities, lack of basic amenities and demanding an enquiry into deaths at ashram schools, The Telegraph reported.

According to the report, the protesting tribal students were later taken out of the city limits via bus. They had been staying at the Maharashtra Congress headquarters, Tilak Bhavan in Dadar since Monday after they were denied permission to hold a protest at Azad Maidan, the report read.

The tribal students had demanded to meet Maharashtra Governor Jishnu Dev Varma to submit a memorandum stating their demands, it added.

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Protesting tribal students vow to return on Oct 25

“They began their march from Nashik on September 28, pressing for various demands, including better facilities, a probe into student deaths in tribal schools, and the resignation of the tribal development minister,” the report read.

While on Monday, the Maharashtra Congress alleged that the police had stopped them from protesting at Azad Maidan and detained them in the early hours of the day. Whereas, the police had denied any arrests, the report said.

The Congress had also claimed that the tribal students have been protesting for over 10 days, seeking redressal of their various demands regarding scholarships, lack of basic amenities in ashram schools, hotels, among other matters, it added.

The report also mentioned that several videos of the incident have been circulated on social media, in which police can be seen putting the tribal students into the police vans.

It also stated that the protesting tribal students also pledged to return to Mumbai on October 25 to resume their agitation.