Fadnavis Orders Withdrawal Of Cases Against NEET Protestors
The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), led by Raj Thackeray, also organised a signature campaign at Shivaji Park seeking Pradhan’s resignation over the alleged irregularities in the NEET examination.
Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday directed the Home Department to initiate the process of withdrawing cases registered against students who participated in protests demanding the resignation of former Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET paper leak issue.
Following the Chief Minister’s directive, the Home Department will begin the process of withdrawing the cases. A senior Mantralaya official said around 35 FIRs have been registered against students across the state, including 17 in Mumbai.
In solidarity with student protesters at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, demonstrations began in Mumbai last Thursday at Azad Maidan, where around 1,000 people gathered. Over the past 10 days, protests were also held at Shivaji Park, Dadar and Chembur. Similar demonstrations took place in Pune, Nanded, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Nagpur against the police action on students in Delhi on July 22. Students and activists demanded Pradhan’s resignation over the alleged NEET paper leak.
During the Delhi protests, police were seen chasing demonstrators, with some protesters reportedly falling while trying to flee.
The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), led by Raj Thackeray, also organised a signature campaign at Shivaji Park seeking Pradhan’s resignation over the alleged irregularities in the NEET examination.
Around 1,000 people were detained by the Maharashtra Police for allegedly participating in unlawful assemblies during the protests. They were later served notices, while FIRs were registered against both named and unidentified persons at various locations across the state.
“Although the Chief Minister has instructed the Home Department to withdraw the cases registered against students during the recent protests, the state currently has no mechanism to do so,” the senior official said.
“Following the Chief Minister’s instructions, the Home Department will direct the police not to arrest any protesters against whom cases have been registered. Meanwhile, we will work out a mechanism to withdraw the cases within the next couple of days,” the official added.
