As many as 17 people were taken into preventive custody by police in Chennai Thursday for carrying out a protest against the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the violence that took place in Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi on Sunday. The detainees were let go after a few hours. The protesters had gathered at the Valluvar Kottam around 4 pm, but were arrested within minutes and taken to the APVP community hall in Nungambakkam. People who gathered outside the APVP marriage hall where17 peaceful protestors from Valluvar Kottam were detained today, have formed a human chain ?????#ChennaiAgainstCAA #IndiaAgainstCAA_NPR_NRC pic.twitter.com/pdln3c2W7c — Jeni (@JenishaRani) January 9, 2020 Earlier, on January 6, the Triplican Deputy Commissioner (DC), G Dharamarajan, had given assurance for the protest. He had said that the protestors can "trust him" and there is no problem in protesting after 3 pm. In a video posted on Twitter, one of the protesters is seen asking the police officer why they were being held despite the promise made by the DC a few days ago. In reply, the police officer is purportedly heard saying that he is the local AC and he will arrest them if they continue with the protest. A crowd gathered at the community hall where the protestors were detained to demand their release. A human chain was also formed, causing a scuffle between the protestors and the police, as the latter said it was causing hindrance to public peace.
