UP: 31 dalit activists, retired IPS officer held for staging anti-govt protests

Lucknow: As many as 31 Dalit activists were arrested on Monday from the Press Club in Lucknow where they had gathered to discuss 'atrocities against Dalits'.

Police arrested the activists, who had gathered to hold a press conference, as they had planned a march towards Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath' residence without permission, a report in NDTV read.

"Retired IPS officer SR Darapuri and seven others were arrested as they attempted to take out a rally at a public place without permission. They were arrested from the Chowk area," said Additional Superintendent of Police (Lucknow West) Vikas Chandra Tripathi.

The activists, including Dalit leaders like Ramesh Dixit, Ram Kumar and Darapuri had planned to talk about the atrocities against Dalits during the press conference, the report added.

In a related development, over 50 protesters were placed under arrest in Jhansi on Sunday to prevent them from entering Lucknow, where they had planned to meet Adityanath and present him a huge bar of soap.

They wanted to personally present the 125-kg soap bar to Yogi Adityanath as a symbolic protest.

In May this year, people belonging to a scheduled caste in Uttar Pradesh's Kushinagar district had alleged that they were given soaps and shampoos by the local administration ahead of the UP CM's visit. Members of the Mushahar community alleged that they were asked to take a bath and clean up before attending the function of Yogi Adityanath.

Meanwhile, the 50 Dalit protesters stopped at Jhansi were not given a reason by the police, but said it was for security reasons.

They were taken to a local guesthouse and later sent back to Ahmedabad by train.