Mumbai: Activists hold 'Free Setalvad' rally outside Dadar station

A Group of Teesta Setalvad supporters gathered outside Dadar station on the east side on Monday evening and struck up a rally cry to lsquofreersquo her Setalvad a civil rights activist and secretary of NGO Citizens for Justice and Peace CJP was picked up and detained from Juhu in Mumbai on Saturday taken to Ahmedabad and arrestedldquoAhmedabad America or even the Arctic our voices raised in protest against the illegal action against Teesta will resound across the world This has already dented Indiarsquos image internationally We have seen the United Nations intervenerdquo said rallyists just before unfurling a huge banner amid the evening rush outside the stationThe UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders Mary Lawlor has been cited in several reports expressing ldquodeep concernrdquo over Setalvadrsquos arrest and asking for her releaseGlobal imageThat is exactly what her group of supporters with banners and placards stated as slogans like ldquoNarendra Modi dadagiri nahi chalegi nahi chalegirdquo and ldquoAmit Shah taanashahi nahi chalegirdquo rent the air Several activists insisted this was ldquoa revenge arrest or action against a person who dared to expose wrongdoingsrdquoThe protestors reasoned ldquoThe court has given a verdict we do not deny that but it can be challengedrdquoProtesters M A Khalid and Prakash Reddy stated ldquoTeesta Setalvad is not a terrorist So why should the AntiTerrorism Squad get involvedrdquo All those in support reiterated that Teesta is not a terrorist and nor is she a criminalNot silentActivist Feroze Mithiborwala said ldquoWe cannot stay silent in the face of this fascist government The ATS or Enforcement Directorate ED cannot be used to scare people We as a nation have been brought into international disrepute by this and we are seeing the beginning not just of a national but international uproarrdquoKhatoon Shaikh of the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan BMMA said ldquoI am here to show my support for Setalvad Onersquos onground presence is important Is it a crime to do goodrdquo Another protester Ullas Choudhary claimed ldquoThis kind of highhandedness and sweeping action is a pointer that this can happen to anybody It can happen to you it can happen to merdquoGandhirsquos shadowBy now the contingent had swelled and a group of protestors in militant red from the Communist parties joined the early protesters cutting a swathe through the crowd with their red flags A loud shout ldquoJoh Hitler ki chaal chalega who Hitler ki maut marega those who use Hitlerrsquos tactics will meet the same end as Hitlerrdquo went up and curious crowds some of them nonplussed at what was going on whipped out their cell phones clicking away as the protest grew more stridentThere was G G Parikh freedom fighter and a sprightly 98yearold who stated ldquoPeople have to shed their fear come out on the streets to protest and go to jail if need be The Gandhians must undertake satyagrahas individually if need be just like Gandhiji didrdquoThe sloganeering gained momentum ldquoBol re sathi halla bol BJP pe halla bol RSS pe halla bol Sangh pe halla bolrdquo went the chants ldquoHow can somebody be arrested on suspicion of a conspiracy This is a miscarriage of justicerdquo said G Menon Another stated ldquoShouldnrsquot an arrest come lsquoafterrsquo an investigation or inquiry People who have the power to put away some behind bars are using it vindictivelyrdquolsquoAttempt to silence activistsrsquoA group of 300 students teachers activists and civil society members protested at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Monday against Teesta Setalvadrsquos arrest Joined by Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh and Ajay Maken protesters called it an attempt to ldquosilencerdquo other activists All India Studentsrsquo Association president N Sai Balaji said ldquoIf the fight against injustice is being criminalised what message are they giving out That we cannot speak against communal riots That no one can stand with the victimsrdquoMeanwhile an Ahmedabad court granted remand of Teesta Setalvad and former Gujarat DGP R B Sreekumar to the Crime Branch till July 2