Two persons were arrested in Assam’s Guwahati on Friday for allegedly painting a mural of activist Sonam Wangchuk, The Indian Express quoted the police as saying on Saturday.

They were arrested under charges of damaging public property, according to the newspaper.

Wangchuk has been on a hunger strike since June 28 at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar. His fast is part of a protest led by the political campaign Cockroach Janta Party demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the alleged mismanagement of competitive examinations.

The activist was forcibly taken to hospital by the Delhi Police on Saturday.

Following this, student organisations and Opposition parties staged a protest in Mumbai against the police action.

The Mumbai Police detained several of the protesters and registered cases against them before releasing them, reported The Indian Express.

Action in Guwahati

The two persons were arrested by a patrol team on Friday night while they were in the process of painting on a wall, an unidentified police official in Guwahati East was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

The action came a day after a mural of Wangchuk appeared on a flyover pillar in the city with the text “Save Sonam Wangchuk”.

It was reportedly painted by students of the Government College of Art & Craft on Thursday night. The police have registered a case in connection with this painting as well, according to The Indian Express.

“We have been seeing for the past few days that suddenly at night some people come and damage bridges and government building walls or campus walls, etc, which are public property,” a police official told the newspaper.

He added: “This is becoming a trend that suddenly someone comes and destroys and tampers with public property, which is not acceptable.”

Protests in Mumbai

Several students organisations – Mumbai Against Suppression of Students, members of the Students’ Federation of India, All India Students’ Federation and Aamchi Padhai Aamchi Ladai – staged a protest at Mumbai’s Azad Maidan on Saturday after the police forced Wangchuk into the hospital, reported The Indian Express.

The demonstration, which was attended by around 100 persons, was against the Delhi Police’ action and to express solidarity with students protesting over alleged irregularities in entrance examinations.

However, soon after it began, the police detained around 50 protesters, citing lack of permissions, the newspaper quoted organisers as saying. The protesters were later released.

Separately, a first information report was registered against the organisers of a protest by the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar).

Nearly 15 to 20 workers of the party were detained during the protest held near Mantralaya, according to The Indian Express.

The Mumbai Police also registered a case against seven persons after around 25 supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party shouted slogans against the Delhi Police’s action outside Azad Maidan.

The organisers were booked under the charges of disobedience to a public servant’s order, wrongful restraint, unlawful assembly and provisions of the Maharashtra Police Act.

CJP protests

After Wangchuk was removed from Jantar Mantar, Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke began an indefinite hunger strike.

Dipke also called for nationwide peaceful protests. “We need to send a message that the people won’t accept this kind of dictatorship,” he said in a video shared by the political campaign.

He said that Wangchuk’s removal from the protest site would not end the campaign and reiterated the protester’s plan to march to Parliament on Monday, when the Monsoon Session begins.

Edited by Sneha.