Aarey Protest: 29 People Arrested Following Protest

The BJP and the Shiv Sena - alliance partners at both the centre and the state of Maharashtra - seem to have locked horns over the proposed metro shed in Aarey forest area. The political drama escalated after hundreds of people gathered to protest in Aarey colony in suburban Mumbai after they were informed that trees were being axed by authorities late Friday night. The protests continued during the wee hours of Saturday in an attempt to stop authorities.

The site also saw heavy police deployment who started dispersing the crowd and had to forcibly remove the protesters. When the situation worsened, police started taking protesters into custody. As many as 29 people have been arrested since yesterday night and section 144 was imposed by Mumbai Police.

This happened hours after the Bombay High Court on Friday afternoon rejected petitions that challenged tree felling in Aarey colony to make way for the construction of a metro car shed. Bulldozers arrived in Aarey and trees began to be cut under the cover of darkness.