LUCKNOW: Amid heightened security arrangements over a proposed student protest in Eco garden area of Alambagh in Lucknow against alleged examination paper leaks, Cockroach Janata Party founder and president Abhijeet Dipke arrived in Lucknow and is expected to participate in a demonstration scheduled at Eco Garden on Friday.Dipke landed at Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport aboard IndiGo flight 6E-338 from Pune at around 2:20 am. Wearing a Team India T-shirt, he was seen exiting the airport and leaving in his vehicle at approximately 2:40 am.Speaking to reporters at the airport, Dipke said he would request local authorities to allow the students to hold a peaceful protest.“We will appeal to the police to grant permission for the demonstration. Just as we held peaceful protests in Delhi and Pune, students in Lucknow also want to express their concerns in a democratic and non-violent manner.Raising one’s voice on public issues is a constitutional right,” he said.Dipke referred to similar protests organised on June 6 at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar and subsequently in Pune, where participants had demanded the resignation of the Union Education Minister over alleged irregularities in examinations and paper leaks.Eco Garden under heavy security coverAnticipating a large turnout, police have thrown a tight security ring around Eco Garden in Alambagh, effectively turning the area into a fortress. A substantial police force, including senior officers, has been deployed in and around the protest venue to maintain law and order and prevent any untoward incident.Senior police officials told TOI that the organisers had initially sought permission to hold a protest at Eco Garden from June 12 to June 18. However, after the proposed programme was scaled down, they submitted documents relating to permissions granted for similar demonstrations in other cities, including Delhi and Pune.Following a review, authorities granted permission for a protest programme at Eco Garden only on June 12 between 10 am and 4 pm, officials said.Police cite lack of coordination by organisers initiallyDespite the limited permission granted for Friday’s gathering, police officials maintained that permission for the originally proposed week-long protest had been denied due to the organisers’ failure to coordinate with the administration.According to police, an application seeking permission for the demonstration was submitted by Vivek Kumar, who proposed organising a protest at Eco Garden from June 12 to June 18 between 10 am and 5 pm each day.Officials said that after receiving the application, multiple attempts were made to contact the organisers and hold discussions regarding the nature of the programme, crowd management plans and other administrative arrangements. However, the organisers allegedly neither responded to official communications nor attended meetings convened by the authorities.“Several efforts were made to establish contact and discuss necessary arrangements for the proposed event, but the organisers did not cooperate with the administration.In view of the lack of coordination and non-compliance with procedural requirements, permission for the proposed extended protest was denied,” a senior police official said.
