Private screening of a documentary about activist Umar Khalid was cancelled after police reportedly intimidated venue managers in Mumbai.
Two Mumbai residents have alleged that their planned private screening of a documentary about jailed activist Umar Khalid, titled 'Prisoner No. 626710 is Present', had to be cancelled following pressure from police. The organisers, Shrishti Khanna and Prashant Pundir, claimed that police personnel visited two venues they had approached and intimidated the managers into cancelling the event.
Khanna stated that after the first venue became unavailable, they finalised another venue and confirmed the screening with its manager. However, on Friday evening, around 7 pm, purported police officers arrived at the second venue and questioned the manager, allegedly pressuring him to cancel the screening.
Khanna further claimed that the venue manager received a call from the superintendent of police, after which a police vehicle arrived at the venue. The manager then informed the organisers in distress that he could not allow the event to go ahead.
According to Khanna, this was a private screening at a paid venue, with participants being registered in advance. She emphasised that it was not a public demonstration or an unlawful gathering.
After the second venue cancelled the event, Khanna and Pundir informed the attendees about the cancellation. However, police personnel reportedly arrived at the first venue that the organisers had initially considered, despite the event not being scheduled to take place there.
Source:
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