Several members of the CPIML Liberation-backed All India Students’ Association were detained by police on Saturday evening after they protested outside the Uttar Pradesh Bhavan in New Delhi to demand the arrest of Bajrang Muni Das, a Hindu monk based in Sitapur near Lucknow who was seen with a megaphone purportedly threatening Muslim women with rape during a Navratri procession.

Protests are only allowed on Jantar Mantar Road in New Delhi district, and at least 45 students were detained at Mandir Marg police station for violating prohibitory orders.

Uttar Pradesh police have registered an FIR against the monk on the basis of a video, which Muni Das claims is doctored although he has confirmed to reporters that he is the person seen in saffron robes in the footage.

He later claimed to have been threatened and has reportedly been given police protection. All the detainees were released after 7pm.