India

Tribal Students Detained at Congress HQ, Removed from Mumbai After Protest

By Faisal Malik

Tribal students who began a march on September 28 demanding an investigation into student deaths at tribal schools were detained at the Maharashtra headquarters of the Congress party and removed from Mumbai on Tuesday. The students had been staying at Tilak Bhavan, the state Congress headquarters, since Monday after police denied them permission to protest at Mumbai’s Azad Maidan. They had requested a meeting with Governor Jishnu Dev Verma and vowed to return to Mumbai on October 25. Police guarding the building prevented the students from leaving as they prepared to exit. The students were then placed on private buses and driven away, reportedly back to Nashik or a nearby area, according to a Congress functionary. The Congress had provided shelter to about 200–300 students during the protest. The students’ demands include an independent probe into the deaths of three girls who died of snakebite at a school in Gadchiroli, ₹1 crore compensation for each family, an inquiry into alleged irregularities in grant distribution, action against officials involved, and the resignation of state tribal development minister Ashok Uike for failing to fulfil his duties.