Anti-CAA protests in the country have been rife with detentions due to police crackdowns, many of which were captured by fellow protestors and citizens on video. In one such incident, Supreme Court lawyer Rachana Joshi Issar engaged spiritedly with police officers as she tried to prevent young protesters from being taken into detention.

Issar tried to physically stop a police vehicle packed with these protesters from being driven away, asking the police officers present, “Aap zabardasti kyun kar rahe ho? (Why are you using force?),” and “Aap bacchhon ko kyun le jaa rahe ho? (Why are you taking the children away?)

According to Sushmit Ghosh, who recorded the incident, “The police started to randomly pick students off the streets well before anything had begun.”

On the preventive detention of peacefully protesting students, Issar appealed to the police to inspire trust within citizens. “If you are going to treat them in such a violent manner, then it sends society a bad message about the police. If you use force, what reaction do you expect? Then you will blame them for being violent.”

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