MUMBAI, July 22 -- Student leaders and protesters involved in the NEET paper leak demonstrations have alleged that they were placed under constant police surveillance after they began mobilising students. Many claimed that they received repeated phone calls from different police units after sharing protest-related messages on social media or WhatsApp. Several students are also worried that the police complaints registered against them could affect their higher education and careers. Vaibhav Chopkar, Maharashtra president of the All India Students Federation (AISF), said the monitoring began soon after he circulated a Google form to register students for the 'Chalo Sansad' rally on July 20. "I was coordinating with students from the Vidarbha region who wanted to travel to Delhi," he said. "But after the registration process started, I began receiving calls from the local police station and even officers from the Anti-Naxal Squads." AISF arranged for tickets for over 300 students who wanted to participate but could not afford the expenses. "At the protest site, the police were identifying people carrying AISF banners," he said. "Many of us were injured during the lathi charge, including some women AISF members." Office-bearers of Chhatra Bharati, another student organisation, had a similar experience. "On July 16, after we planned a march at Azad Maidan, I started getting calls from different police stations and unknown numbers," said Dipti Shelar, a 25-year-old MSW graduate. "We somehow managed to reach Masjid Bunder station, but the police detained us for the entire day. Even when we were later in Delhi for the Chalo Sansad march, Mumbai cops kept calling us and asking about our location." Rohit Dhale, an office-bearer of Chhatra Bharati, said, "I simply posted a message on my social media supporting Prakash Ambedkar's call for a Maharashtra bandh on July 23 and demanding the resignation of the education minister," he said. "Soon after, I started getting calls from police stations all over asking about our plans." Advocate Lara Jessani, who is among the lawyers providing legal assistance to the students, alleged that the police monitoring was intended to discourage people from participating in protests. "The non-jurisdictional Zero FIR system was introduced to make it easier for citizens to register complaints at any police station," she said. "It is now being used to harass protesters." Jessani said they had not received the FIR copies even after submitting an application, and they had not been uploaded. "Protestors were picked up even before the protests commenced," she said. "The state government must stop this misuse of the law and intervene urgently to ensure that peaceful protests are not criminalised."...