IAS officer, who resigned over Kashmir, detained

The Mumbai police on Friday detained former IAS officer Kannan Gopinathan, who had resigned from service as a mark of protest against the restrictions imposed in Jammu and Kashmir following the abrogation of Article 370, during a march against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill.

Deputy Commissioner of Police, Zone 1, Sangramsingh Nishandar, told Mirror that Gopinath was among a group of 15 to 20 people who had gathered outside Hotel Ambassador near Marine Drive to protest against the bill, which was passed by the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.

Later, in a tweet, Gopinathan said the detention was illegal. “We were not even allowed to read the Constitution. Mumbai police detained us illegally and forcefully took us even before the protest began,” the tweet said.

“Get out and regain your constitutional rights! Else it will be gone forever,” he wrote in another tweet, while posting a picture of himself and other protesters along with the police.

“Why should I be scared? This is my country and I will not be silent when exercises such as NRC and CAB are conducted,” Gopinathan told Mumbai Mirror. The CAB is biased and does great injustice to the Muslim community, he said. “It may be a win for BJP, but it is not a win for India or the Indian Constitution.”