Overview
- The session, titled Incarcerated: Tales from Behind Bars, was listed for Thursday with Anand Teltumbde and author Neeta Kolhatkar in conversation, moderated by journalist Naresh Fernandes.
- Organisers told participants the Mumbai Police asked them to withdraw the event and delete related social media posts, and multiple outlets reviewed emails conveying the cancellation.
- Police responses have conflicted, with one officer saying no permission was sought, another saying the force does not typically order cancellations, and a station officer calling the talk controversial and against the government.
- The programme drew online objections from pro-Hindutva accounts after posters circulated, including posts labeling Teltumbde an “Urban Naxal” and questioning government-linked support for the festival.
- Teltumbde, arrested in 2020 in the Elgar Parishad–Bhima Koregaon case and out on bail since 2022, has discussed his prison memoir publicly before; speakers called the festival’s move a curb on public debate as the wider event proceeds.