Trupti’s protest not allowed at Haji Ali, detained by cops

Bhumata Brigade leader Trupti Desai was not allowed to protest at Haji Ali dargah on Thursday. She was detained by the police before she could hold the protest, while Samajwadi Party leader Abu Azmi and Shiv Sena leader Haji Arafat Sheikh were allowed inside the dargah by the police. Ms Desai and her colleagues were detained before they could enter the dargah on an islet off Worli coast in South Mumbai.

Ms Desai, who reached near the entry of the causeway leading to the dargah with fellow activists, left the spot after a few minutes as protesters from Awami Vikas Party gathered around them to thwart their attempt. Also, a local AIMIM leader had threatened to blacken the faces of the women protesters. Mr Sheikh had threatened to beat Ms Desai with a slipper last week.

“We have no intention to hurt religious sentiments, but we are against discrimination. We wanted a peaceful protest, but were restricted from doing so. The police did not do anything against other protesters (who disrupted the women’s brigade’s agitation),” Ms Desai said.

Before heading to the spot, Ms Desai had told the media that she was leading a “peaceful agitation” to assert women’s right to go up to the mazaar of the dargah.

Expecting a face-off between the campaigners and the protesters, including those from AIMIM and the Samajwadi Party, the police had barricaded the entire area.

Some supporters of the campaign also turned up there pledging support for the agitation.