Mumbai Police Expels 'Save Aarey' Activist from City for 3 Months

Mumbai Police have expelled Tabrez Ali Sayed, a 29-year-old activist and "Save Aarey Forest" campaigner, from the city for three months. According to the police, Sayed is accused of committing several offences, and his externment order was issued in November 2022. The order has now officially been put into effect, and Sayed has been instructed to avoid Mumbai City, Suburban Mumbai, Thane, and Palghar districts during this time.

However, Sayed believes that the externment order given to him is unfair and that he is not a threat to society. The order lists seven FIRs against him in the police stations of Aarey and Powai, but Sayed claims that the majority of these incidents are not severe enough to warrant an externment.

Sayed is a member of the Democratic Youth Federation of India, the youth branch of the CPI (M) party. His affiliation with the party has been a subject of debate since the externment order was issued. Some activists believe that Sayed has been targeted to cause terror among other environmental activists.

The NGO Vanashakti's D Stalin reacted in a TOI report by saying, "It is ironic that Sayed has been given the order for externment while several politicians with major criminal records—such as rape, murder, and financial scams—are sitting comfortably with scarcely any action taken against them. For the purpose of instilling fear among other environmental activists, the police have turned him into a soft target", Stalin added. "In response to this biassed move against Sayed, we intend to write to the state authorities,"

Green campaigners have also protested the externment order that Sayed received in accordance with Section 56(1)(a) of the Maharashtra Police Act. The activists have opposed the order, stating that Sayed is being punished for his involvement in the "Save Aarey Forest" campaign.

Sayed has left the city limits in accordance with the externment order but plans to contest it in the Bombay High Court. The court had previously revoked a 15-day ban from Mumbai that was given to Sayed in relation to the construction of the Metro-3 line at Aarey. Activist Amrita Bhattacharjee trusts that the court will review and decide on the most recent externment order, as it did with Sayed's previous 15-day ban from Mumbai.