Mumbai Police on Monday, October 5, confirmed detaining people in connection with a proposed march to the Governor’s residence, while denying Congress allegations that tribal students were arrested from its Tilak Bhavan headquarters. The competing accounts concern overnight police action as students from Nashik sought to press demands over education and hostel facilities.
Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal alleged that officers entered the party office in Dadar after midnight, threatened students staying there and took some into custody. He said members of the National Students’ Union of India were also detained. Congress MP Varsha Gaikwad separately criticised the alleged action and said the students had come to seek basic facilities.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Manish Kalwaniya said nobody had been arrested from Tilak Bhavan. Police said protesters planning to march to Lok Bhavan were detained at various places and that legal action was being taken. Their statement described the action as directed at participants attempting to proceed towards the Governor’s residence, rather than an operation inside the party headquarters.
The students’ demands concern scholarships and conditions in tribal residential schools and hostels. Their 26-point charter also seeks an independent inquiry into deaths at tribal ashram schools and the resignation of Tribal Development Minister Ashok Uike. Students had moved their campaign from Nashik towards Mumbai, sought to protest at Azad Maidan and requested a meeting with the Chief Minister.
Sapkal demanded the students’ release and warned that Congress leaders would surround Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’s official residence if they remained in custody. The reviewed police statement did not identify a verified detention total or specify individual charges. Whether police entered the Congress office remains disputed; no independent finding resolving that allegation or confirmed release outcome was available.