Buses stood ready to carry away detainees, and a heavy deployment guarded the proposed starting point.
New Delhi: Minutes before the march was set to begin, police loudspeakers at India Gate were already telling people to leave.
Sunday, the third consecutive day of protests against chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, saw nearly 120 detentions. At 2.50 pm, police were in force at India Gate. A little after 3 pm, members of AAP and its student wing, ASAP, arrived with other protesters. Around 5 pm, the confrontation shifted to a vehicle near Shangri-La hotel, where AISA president Neha Bora was taken, according to a complaint the organisation sent the Delhi Police commissioner.
“Even if prohibitory orders have been imposed, we want to march,” said Mannat, an artist. “When police themselves are attacking women, don’t the rules apply to them?” Within the next few hours, the gathering shifted to Ashoka Road, where hundreds of protesters pushed barricades into the path of a riot-control vehicle, climbed barriers and vehicles, and confronted police trying to block them from Jantar Mantar. They asked media personnel to keep their identity cards visible. The announcements came a day after three women covering the protests alleged sexual harassment by police personnel. As they attempted to march, police detained them and took them towards some waiting buses. Some resisted boarding. Others climbed onto a bus and continued chanting. Some protesters broke the rear window of a bus to escape, while some jumped from the moving buses. For students waiting at India Gate for the march called by All India Students’ Association (AISA) and other Left groups, uncertainty suddenly gave way to a rush towards Ashoka Road. Word spread that the gathering point had shifted to the Andhra Bhawan Circle, and protesters were seen rushing there. Soon, hundreds had assembled. The march stalled at India Gate had found a new gathering point and a fresh line of police to confront. As police arrived in large numbers and a riot-control vehicle approached, the protesters pushed barricades into its path, blocking its movement. Some clambered onto the barriers and continued shouting slogans as police tried to contain the crowd. The barricades became the centre of a face-off. Women protesters tried to climb onto the vehicle, while women police personnel struggled to pull them away. Bora reportedly also scaled a barricade. Protesters later marched towards the Windsor Place roundabout too. Traffic was severely affected around the area. Apart from the common cause of demanding Kumar’s resignation, for some in the crowd, anger over police’s way of handling of the protests was another reason to turn up.