18 people from Mizoram held in Chennai, let off after proving identity

CHENNAI: After cracking down on Tibetans ahead of the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping, the city police has detained men and women from northeast states merely on suspicion.
At least 18 people from Mizoram were detained in the last few days and were asked to prove their identity. Some of them were let off on Friday after verifying their identity cards.
The Chennai Mizo Welfare Association (CMWA) has criticised these “arbitrary arrests and indifferent attitude” of policemen.The association alleged that men as well as women from northeast were randomly picked up. In some instances, they were detained while walking on roads, going to their colleges or offices.
“Police had already asked them to carry identity cards before venturing out on Friday due to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit, but this incident was unfortunate. Police constables detained fair-complexioned people for questioning,” the association alleged.
Speaking to TOI, P C Micheal, general secretary of CMWA, said, “We know that a security protocol was in place. But we denounce the fact that they were detained despite carrying their identity cards,” he said.
When the Mizo association took up the issue of arbitrary detention with local police stations, they were told that policemen were just following orders from the top. Some of those detained said they had to call their employers in order to prove that they were not Tibetans.
“If we were told that this would be the situation, we would have asked our people not to step out. They should have let them off at least after verifying the identity cards and not detained for hours together” said Micheal.
“We are not a threat to anybody,” said a man from Mizoram, who was briefly detained by police for questioning and was let off only after proving his identity.