BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis, other party members detained during protest seeking Nawab Malik’s resignation

Former Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and other BJP leaders were detained by police here on Wednesday as they tried to take out a protest march to press for state minister Nawab Malik's resignation.

They were released later, said a police official. BJP leaders tried to take out a protest march from Azad Maidan in south Mumbai, demanding that Malik, a senior NCP leader arrested by the Enforcement Directorate, resign or be sacked.

Fadnavis, state BJP chief Chandrakant Patil, Ashish Shelar, Mangal Prabhat Lodha, and others were detained near Metro Cinema and taken to the Yellow Gate police station, said the official. They were released later after the completion of legal formalities, he added.

The protest also led to traffic snarls in the area. The extra police force had been deployed in the area in view of the protest, the official said. No FIR has been registered with respect to the protest, the police official added.

Malik, who is a minority development minister, was arrested on February 23 by the Enforcement Directorate in a money-laundering probe linked to the activities of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim and his aides. The NCP leader is now in judicial custody.