Tamil Nadu: Anti-Neet protest near Jayalalithaa's memorial

Chennai: At least 27 members of the Students Federation of India (SFI) were arrested by the police after they sat on a protest at former Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa’s memorial at the Marina beach to protest against Neet on Wednesday.

The students sneaked into the memorial in the guise of paying respects to the leader and sat on protest, sources said. Protests were held at several locations in the city demanding justice for the deceased medical aspirant Anitha, who committed suicide in Ariyalur last Friday. Anitha’s death triggered a series of protests across the state with political parties, student groups raising voices against the central government for pushing Neet. The protestors also raised slogans against the ruling state government. 

“Today, it is Anitha. Tomorrow, it can be another student,” the students said as police personnel took them away from the memorial. Police had cordoned off the service roads leading to Marina beach to prevent another pro-jallikattu protest to be replicated. The arrested students were booked under section 151 of CrPC (congregation in public places without getting prior permission to stage protest). They were detained in a community hall and let off in the evening. Similar protests were held at other parts of the city too. At least 60 others were detained and let off in the evening in protests held in other parts of the city, police said.