81 detained in Ahmedabad as they gather for anti-CAA protest

Eighty-one persons, including students of various institutes, were detained on Sunday as they gathered for a protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) near Gujarat University in the city, police said. According to police, they were detained as permission had not been granted for the protest.

Activists belonging to different civil society groups, faculty members of some educational institutions, including the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad, some trade union leaders and others had gathered at the site, where they planned to hold the demonstration.

"Total 81 persons were detained from near the Gujarat University as they gathered for a protest. They were taken into custody as the police had denied permission for the protest," Gujarat University police station inspector H M Vyas said.

They had sought permission to hold a protest on a footpath between the gates of Kanoria Centre for Arts and Amdavad-ni-Gufa in the city to protest, which was denied by the police saying that it may create a law and order problem and also disturb traffic, the officer said. The detainees were taken to the Gujarat University police station.