VARANASI: Bid to begin Delhi’s

and Lucknow’s

like anti-CAA protest by a group of

Muslim

women and men at

ground here on Thursday was foiled by police.

Police took 10 men protesters under custody while women protesters managed to escape. Some anti-social elements also tried to create panic by indulging in brick batting outside the ground.

Around 12 noon over a dozen Muslim women gathered near Gandhi Chaura inside Benia Bagh ground and started anti-CAA sit-in stir. Within few minutes some men of adjoining Muslim dominated localities also reached there to join them.

On getting information heavy police force reached there from

, Chowk and

police stations. Later, district magistrate

, SSP Prabhakar Chawdhary and other senior officers also reached there with police, PAC and RAF.

Police asked the protesters to show district administration permission letter for holding protest. When the protesters made it clear that they had not taken permission for their protest police started taking them under custody. It led to a scuffle between the cops and protesters. In the meantime some anti-social elements pelted stones from outside the ground and fled the scene.

Taking advantage of the chaos created by such brick batting the women protesters fled the scene. SSP said that 10 men protesters had been taken under custody and sent to police lines. The women protesters had managed to escape, he added.

The DM said that district administration had already made it clear that as prohibitory order under section 144 is promulgating in the district any peaceful protest or agitation can take place with permission of district administration only. In recent weeks permissions had also been issued for the protests of Congress and Communist party, he said adding, but on Thursday some anti-social elements tried to disturb law and order by staging sit-in at Benia Bagh ground without any permission from district administration.

DM said that this bid of protest had been foiled and many have been taken under custody to initiate legal action against them.

Apart from Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh, Lucknow’s Ghantaghar and other major cities the Muslim women had also staged a day-long protest at Karbala ground of Azamgarh district in east UP region on Tuesday in protest against CAA, NRC and NPR.