While the day began with people expressing fear about what the police would do at the protest, it ended with the Mumbai Police receiving praise for keeping the peace and not infringing on the democratic rights of the protesters. Speakers on stage made it a point to appreciate them on stage, while others took to Twitter.

In light of reports from other states about protesters being either detained or assaulted, those at August Kranti Maidan set out from their homes with some apprehensions. From an Internet blackout to possible detention, nothing was ruled out and the protesters even shared contact numbers of lawyers.

However, as the protest progressed under a tight watch of more then 20,000 personnel, those on stage expressed their sincere thanks to the police.

“This very young girl who was separated from her friends — and joined us because the crowd was massive, with long queues. She asked a cop standing by, ‘nothing will happen no?’ and the cop replied her to not worry by saying that ‘We are here’ and said that this is Mumbai, not Delhi/UP,” Sejal Mehta, a participant, tweeted.

Comedian Sahil Shah tweeted, “If you’re at the Mumbai protest I urge you to do one thing that I personally did. Please thank each and every Mumbai Police officer standing on duty. This day has been stressful for them as well. Nobody thanks them for a good job. Their smile when you say Thank You is genuine.”

Others who expressed their appreciation for the police included film personalities like Farhan Akhtar and Swara Bhaskar, and Congress party leader Milind Deora.

Stand up comic Kunal Kamra, too, tweeted saying, “Delhi police should come take training from Mumbai Police on how to keep a state peaceful at Dissent.”

Joint Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Vinoy Choubey said that the peace was maintained thanks to smooth coordination by both parties involved. “We already had several meetings with the organisers and they, too, cooperated with us a lot and did not give us any reason to step in and interefere at any point,” he said.