CHENNAI: A group of 38 students, activists and academicians were arrested on Monday near the Gandhi statue at Marina Beach when they tried to protest the murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh. The protests, organised by civil society groups under Forum Against The Killing of Gauri Lankesh, were conducted in 60 cities and towns across 16 states including Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Punjab on Gandhi Jayanthi. Gauri Lankesh was shot dead by three assailants outside her home in Bengaluru on September 5. On Monday morning, nearly 50 protestors from various parts of the state gathered at the Marina Beach promenade to garland the statue of Mahatma Gandhi and raise slogans demanding a judicial probe into the murder of Lankesh. A huge posse of policemen, who were deployed at the statue on account of Gandhi Jayanthi, arrested the protestors. Law college student M Shreela, who was arrested, said, "We were going to garland Gandhiji's statue and sing songs as a form of protest." Police booked 38 persons and lodged them in a marriage hall in Mylapore for six hours. They were let off in the evening. A similar protest was held at Thanjavur but no arrests were reported. Writer and DMK member Manushyaputhiran, who was part of the group, condemned the police action, terming it "undemocratic". Manushyaputhiran was arrested when he attempted to stage a sit-in protest. Manushyaputhiran said, "When we asked the police why we were being arrested, we were told that they did not have to answer to us." Theatre activist A Mangai said, "Protests against the killing of Lankesh were held all across the country but there was no interference by police elsewhere." The protestors raised banners that carried slogans such as 'Those Who Killed Gandhi Killed Gauri'. "Fascism is spreading in different ways. Tamil Nadu has developed an undemocratic political culture which is a fertile ground for Hindutva movements to take root," said writer V Geetha.