Bengaluru police serve detained Guha lunch before freeing

Noted historian Ramachandra Guha got to see the humane side of the Bengaluru police, who served him lunch after he was detained for protesting against the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) here on Thursday.

"We are first humans and then men in khaki (police uniform). As all are equal before the law, we treat everyone with respect and care. As Guha and others had to be under detention for a couple of hours, we got vegetarian food from a nearby hotel and served them as it was lunch hour," Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) K. Gouda told IANS.

The hot lunch comprised tomato baath, sambar/rasam rice and curd rice.

Admitting that not many in the police force, including those who detained him at the spot, knew that Guha was a historian and an eminent critic, Gouda said the latter was given due attention and taken care of well, as he was calm and decent during the detention period, which lasted for a couple of hours.

"Guha was taken into preventive custody at the Town Hall in the city centre for staging protest against the CAA in defiance of the ban order in force since morning. We whisked him away from the venue to a wedding hall in the southeast suburb and served him hot lunch along with others," said Gouda.

"Guha and others, including women and senior citizens partook the lunch and were seated during their detention," Gouda added.

Guha, 61, was freed along with other 120 detainees early evening on Thursday.

The detainees, including Guha thanked the police for their gesture and warmth during their preventive custody under section 144 of the CrPC.

The CAA, passed by Parliament on December 11, is meant to grant citizenship to persecuted Hindus, Sikhs, Parsis and Christians who were minorities in Afghanistan, Bangaldesh and Pakistan.IANS