Former IAS officer Kannan Gopinathan who quit the services protesting over the suspension of civil rights in Jammu and Kashmir has been detained by the Uttar Pradesh police on Saturday.
He was detained in Agra while he was traveling to Aligarh to attend a panel discussion hosted by the Aligarh Muslim University on Saturday.
Detained at UP border
— Kannan Gopinathan (@naukarshah) January 4, 2020
Kannan was supposed to address the gathering in AMU on Saturday against the Citizenship Amendment Act, National Population Register and National Register of Citizens, along with Kavitha Krishnan and other activists. The Resident Doctor's Association of AMU had given a notice of this announcement on Thursday.
However, late on Friday he was informed that the Aligarh district administration had served a notice asking him not to enter the district or attend the panel discussion as per the orders of the UP government.
He challenged the notice and decided to go ahead and attend the panel discussion despite the order after tweeting “I will he going to Aligarh. Administration is free to do as they deem fit.”
While in Agra, he was taken into custody by the police and shifted a neighbourhood hotel.
Speaking to local Malayalam media from Agra, the former IAS officer added that the police has been attempting to confiscate his mobile phone.
“There is no order that prohibits me from entering Agra. The police here have taken me to a hotel. They have been continuously trying to take my phone away. If they manage to do so, I will not be able to contact anyone in sometime,” he told Indian Express.
The officer had also tweeted his whereabouts while in the custody of the UP police. While initially the police took him to a hotel, he later tweeted that he was being shifted to a local dhaba.
Being taken to another place from here. Guest house it seems
— Kannan Gopinathan (@naukarshah) January 4, 2020
“Taking me to this dhaba. Police have been very cordial and respectful. Saying they are just doing as per order,” he tweeted.
At 11:20 am on Saturday, he tweeted that the police was shifting him to another location, this time a guest house.
TNM attempted to reach out to the former IAS officer. However his phone calls remained unanswered.