Organizers allege Mumbai police canceled 'Prisoner No. 626710 is present'
Organizers say the Mumbai police stepped in and got the private venue in Andheri to cancel Prisoner No. 626710 is Present, a documentary about jailed student activist Umar Khalid.
According to organizers Shrishti Khanna and Prashant Pundir, plainclothes officers pressured the venue manager, and there are worries that police accessed private information shared by people who signed up.
Organizers filed complaints after Mumbai cancelation
After the Mumbai incident, organizers filed complaints with the police commissioner and human rights groups.
The film has hit similar snags elsewhere, like a postponed screening at Bengaluru's NLSIU and a canceled screening at IIIT-Hyderabad, with the former delayed after opposition from the ABVP and the latter canceled because the CBFC said public exhibition of an uncertified film would violate the Cinematograph Act unless a specific exemption had been obtained.
Meanwhile, Khalid has been in custody under anti-terror laws since 2020 and is still waiting for his trial.