Actor Ayesha Khan has said that she was detained by Mumbai Police on Wednesday while trying to join a student protest in Dadar. Ayesha, who recently appeared in the special song ‘Shararat’ from ‘Dhurandhar’, shared videos on Instagram and questioned why she and her friends were taken into custody before the protest had even started.
According to her account, she reached Dadar at around 4 pm to support the ongoing student demonstrations. She said a police officer told her that protests were not allowed at that location. Ayesha claimed that when she asked what other option was available, the situation changed quickly and police personnel surrounded her group.
Ayesha Khan shares account of detention
In her Instagram video statement, Ayesha alleged that around 15 police personnel, including male and female officers, came near her and her friends and asked them to get into a police van. She said they resisted because they had not begun raising slogans or demonstrating.
Describing what happened next, Ayesha said she was pulled by several women officers and forced into the van. She claimed that throughout the ride, she and others kept asking why they were being detained and what rule they had broken, but did not receive an answer.
She said the group was taken from Dadar to Worli. Ayesha added that officers at the Worli police station behaved respectfully with them, but she still did not get an explanation for the detention. Her central question, she said, was why they were stopped before any protest had begun.
Actor posts video from the incident
Ayesha also posted another video that appeared to show her being pushed into a police van. In the caption, she wrote that she had been dragged and detained for standing peacefully. She said she had asked the police personnel present why she was being detained, but did not receive a reply.
In the same post, Ayesha asked when standing on the road had become a crime. She wrote that she stood for what she believed was right and continued asking at the police station which law she had broken. She also criticised what she described as a lack of accountability.
Her post said that she could see discomfort in some officers’ eyes, but added that they were bound by their duties. Ayesha ended her note by saying that she still had hope for a better future.
Student protests spread to Mumbai
The incident took place amid a wider series of student protests that began in New Delhi and have since spread to several cities. Protesters have been demanding accountability and have also called for the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
In Mumbai, demonstrations have been reported at locations including Shivaji Park and Chaityabhoomi. Some protesters have claimed that they were detained before they could reach the protest sites.
Ayesha’s posts focused on the manner of her detention and the lack of an explanation, according to her. She said she had gone to Dadar to support the students and was taken away before she could begin participating in the protest.
Source: Bollywood Hungama.