Police Detain 15 Protesters Near CSMT During Demonstration For Sonam Wangchuk

MUMBAI — Around 15 to 20 protesters were detained by the Mumbai Police on Saturday, July 18, 2026, after a brief clash broke out during a demonstration near the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) and the BMC headquarters. The protest was organized by supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and student activists in support of activist Sonam Wangchuk.

The demonstration began at approximately 3:30 PM. The protest was triggered by events in Delhi, where activist Sonam Wangchuk was forcibly removed from his hunger strike and taken to a hospital in the early hours of Saturday morning. This occurred after police cracked down on a stir at Jantar Mantar.

Anticipating demonstrations in Mumbai due to the tension over the police action in Delhi, the Mumbai Police had completely sealed off the area around CSMT. Despite these security measures, about 35 protesters managed to bypass the police presence. The demonstrators utilized the Metro subway to make their way to the CSMT area to join the protest held by the Mumbai wing of the CJP.

The protesters arrived holding placards to express their demands. One of the placards carried by the demonstrators read, “Now not only Dharmendra but Narendra must also resign.” The banners also bore the official symbol of the Mumbai wing of the All India Students’ Federation (AISF).

The situation quickly grew tense at the demonstration site, leading to a brief physical clash between the protesters and the police. Officers then intervened, picking up between 15 and 20 of the demonstrators and shoving them into police vans.

The protest and subsequent police action caused temporary disruptions to traffic around the busy CSMT and BMC headquarters area. Normalcy was restored to the streets shortly after the detained protesters were removed from the scene.