Tushar Gandhi detained by Mumbai police ahead of anti-CEC protest

Activist Tushar Gandhi picked up in Mumbai

Mumbai police detained social activist Tushar Gandhi on Saturday morning as he was travelling to lead a demonstration at August Kranti Maidan in support of an opposition protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

Gandhi, the 66-year-old great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and president of civil society group Hum Bharat Ke Log, was intercepted near the National College intersection on Link Road. Officers initially took him to Santa Cruz police station before transferring him to DN Nagar police station in Andheri West, where he remains in custody.

Following his detention, his daughter Kasturi Gandhi raised concerns over his access to essential medication, sharing a brief text message from him that read, "Bring my medicine."

"Listen to the testimony of the driver who saw the state apparatus pick up a 66-year-old unarmed descendant of India’s founders," Kasturi Gandhi posted on X, alongside an audio recording of the driver. The driver said police vehicles pulled up alongside their car without explanation before officers called Gandhi out and took him away.

Crackdown across Mumbai and Delhi

The action against Gandhi forms part of a broader police crackdown across Maharashtra aimed at halting movement towards anti-CEC demonstrations. Mumbai police detained more than 200 people on Friday to prevent them from travelling to the capital. Other local civil society leaders, including activist Feroze Mithoborewala, were also picked up by officers ahead of Saturday's gathering.

In a video message released while in custody, Gandhi urged supporters to continue with the planned gathering. "We will continue our protest despite detention. We appeal to everyone to reach August Kranti Maidan this afternoon," he said, adding that he expected police to confiscate his phone.

The gathering in Mumbai was called in solidarity with a demonstration at Jantar Mantar in Delhi, organised by the Cockroach Janata Party against the Chief Election Commissioner.

Police in the capital launched similar preventive detentions on Saturday. Cockroach Janata Party founder Abhijeet Dipke and co-conveners Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were taken into custody directly from their aircraft upon landing at Delhi airport.

Near Jantar Mantar, several senior political figures were intercepted by Delhi police as they arrived for the rally, including CPI(M) leaders Pinarayi Vijayan, MA Baby, Brinda Karat, MV Govindan Master, and KK Shailaja. Former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was also detained on Saturday afternoon after sitting on a roadside dharna near the South Avenue bus stand.

It is not yet clear how long Gandhi and the other detainees will be held, or whether formal charges will be pressed.