Hyderabad | In a dramatic show of dissent, 70 individuals were taken into preventive custody on Thursday evening (June 19) as they staged a protest outside the U.S. Consulate in Nanakramguda, Hyderabad. The demonstration, led by the Communist Party of India (CPI) and associated Left-wing organisations, was held to condemn the U.S. government’s continued support for Israeli military actions against Iran, reported the India Today.
Among the detainees were 63 men and seven women who gathered with placards and chanted slogans denouncing U.S. military and political backing of Israel in the ongoing regional conflict. Visuals circulating on social media showed police personnel physically restraining the protestors and escorting them into waiting vans. Even after detention, several demonstrators continued to shout slogans from within the police vehicles.
According to Hyderabad police, the protesters were taken into custody as a precautionary measure to maintain law and order. Of the 70 detained, 56 were sent to the Narsingi police station while the other 14 were moved to the Gachibowli police station.
The protestors included participants from multiple districts: 29 from Hyderabad, 35 from Rangareddy, and one each from Sangareddy, Khammam, Asifabad, Nalgonda, Mahabubnagar, and Warangal. A group of students from the University of Hyderabad who were en route to join the protest was reportedly stopped by the police before reaching the site.
This protest highlights growing discontent among sections of Indian civil society over the United States’ foreign policy stance in the Middle East.
