Students detained in Alwar ahead of Amit Shah visit, planned black-flag protest

Rajasthan Police detained a group of college students in Alwar on Sunday ahead of Union Home minister Amit Shah's visit to the city. The students were reportedly planning to protest and show black flags during his public programme.

Shah, accompanied by Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma, is scheduled to address a public meeting at Vijay Nagar Ground in Alwar. He is also set to launch development projects worth ₹6,279 crore across Rajasthan, including projects valued at ₹783 crore in Alwar district.

Students planned protest at RR College

According to police sources, the students were detained before a proposed demonstration at RR College, news agency PTI reported.

The protesters planned to raise several issues during the demonstration. These included the lathi-charge on students at Delhi's Jantar Mantar during the Cockroach Janta Party protest in July, the condition of roads in the state and the alleged Matsya scam involving the fisheries department.

They were also demanding the restoration of student union elections in Rajasthan, the sources said.

The detentions came amid Opposition demands for Shah's resignation over the police action against student protesters in the national capital.

Preventive detentions reported during Shah's visits

The Alwar incident also comes after similar preventive detentions were reported ahead of Shah's public engagements in other cities.

In Pune on August 1, several office-bearers of the Maharashtra Youth Congress and Pune City Congress were detained shortly after midnight ahead of visits by Shah and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. The Youth Congress alleged that its leaders were held for nearly 16 hours and that their mobile phones were seized.

On the same day, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Vasant More was detained after announcing plans to protest during Shah's visit. Police described the detention as preventive and said it was intended to avoid disruption to Shah's visit and an award ceremony for Doval.

Student protests linked to Jantar Mantar action

The July 20 police action referred to by the Alwar protesters was connected to a student-led movement at Jantar Mantar over the NEET-UG paper leak. Activists associated with groups including the All India Students Association and the Cockroach Janta Party had participated in the protests.

The protests eventually led to the resignation of senior BJP leader Dharmendra Pradhan as education minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government.

Student groups have since alleged that activists continued to face detentions despite assurances from the government that no punitive action would follow the conclusion of the protests.