Mumbai: Amid student protests seeking the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan across the city, Instagram has become a vital tool for disseminating information. This includes pamphlets with legal aid and medical contacts as well as basic details such as venues and dates of demonstrations.One such Google Drive link was created by therapist Aishwarya Chawla, who circulated the contacts of lawyers and mental health professionals for major cities in case protesters needed help. Its ‘know your rights’ document was compiled by a law student from Delhi University, which starts with a message: “Detention may restrict your movement, but it cannot confine your voice. Stand firm, know your rights, and remember that an entire community of legal minds is working tirelessly to secure your due process.”For Mumbai, a team of nine lawyers from Bombay high court signed up to provide free legal aid to any protester. One such lawyer, Vikrant Khare, said the legal team had received hundreds of calls over the last three days. “A few of us got together after the police violence in Delhi to be of help to students in Mumbai in case a similar situation happened.” He said there were multiple cases of police violence against students, along with unlawful detentions, across the city.Another lawyer, Srushti More, said many protesters learnt about the legal aid after seeing lawyers visit police stations to rescue detainees, spread through word of mouth and social media. “Our numbers quickly went on Cockroach Janta Party pages and among social media users with mass following. We are glad we could help. There have been instances where people were kept in police stations from morning till late evening,” she said.
