Bengaluru: Historian Ramachandra Guha was detained on Thursday during a protest against Citizenship Act in Bengaluru.
The 61-yea-old was participating in the protest near the Town Hall.
Guha told NDTV that he has been detained by police for holding a poster of Gandhi and speaking about the constitution to the press.
Three policemen held Guha's hand and forcefully dragged him to the police van even as he was talking to the media near the protest venue.
He tried to argue with the policemen, but they did not listen to him.
He told mediapersons that the police are acting under directions from the centre. Our paranoid rulers in Delhi are scared. Our home minister would not dare allow a peaceful protest. We are here to assert our democratic rights. I feel sorry for police who are acting at the behest of their colonial masters,” he said.
"We are protesting against a discriminatory act peacefully. Look, have you seen any violence here?" The police dragged him before he could complete the sentence.
Senior journalist Rajdeep Sardesai tweeted that Gandhi’s biographer @Ram_Guha detained in Bangalore for doing Gandhigiri! Surely a strong state shouldn’t be afraid of peaceful protests in the 150th year of Bapu?
The police have imposed ban on large gatherings - under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code - in Bengaluru and many other cities across the state in view of the protests against the contentious act.
Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) of 1973 authorises the Executive Magistrate of any state or territory to issue an order to prohibit the assembly of four or more people in an area.
