Mumbai Screening of Umar Khalid Documentary Cancelled Amid Alleged Police Pressure
Organisers allege plainclothes police personnel pressured venue managers to stop the private screening
Mumbai: A private screening of the documentary Prisoner No. 626710 Is Present, based on jailed activist Umar Khalid, was cancelled in Mumbai following alleged pressure on the venues approached by the organisers.
The organisers, Shrishti Khanna and Prashant Pundir, alleged that police personnel in civilian clothes visited the venues and questioned the managers about the planned screening. According to the organisers, the final venue in Andheri was contacted on Friday evening, after which its manager was allegedly pressured to cancel the programme. A police vehicle reportedly arrived at the location following a phone call from a senior police officer.
The screening had been planned for Saturday with around 40 to 60 registered participants. The organisers described it as a private, non commercial screening rather than a public gathering or demonstration.
The organisers further alleged that police personnel later visited the earlier venue they had approached in Bandra, even though the screening there had already been cancelled. They also raised concerns over how police allegedly obtained information about the event that had been shared within a private group of registered participants.
Prisoner No. 626710 Is Present is directed by filmmaker Lalit Vachani and focuses on Umar Khalid, who was arrested in September 2020 in connection with the alleged larger conspiracy related to the northeast Delhi riots. He has been charged under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and other provisions and has remained in custody since his arrest.
The Mumbai incident comes amid other recent controversies surrounding screenings of the same documentary. A proposed screening at the National Law School of India University in Bengaluru was postponed, while the Central Board of Film Certification recently objected to a proposed screening at IIIT Hyderabad, stating that public exhibition of an uncertified film would violate the Cinematograph Act unless an exemption had been obtained.
The Mumbai Police had not publicly responded to the allegations at the time of the latest reports. The claims regarding police pressure and access to private event information therefore remain allegations made by the organisers.