On Wednesday afternoon, I was at Janpath-Ashoka Road roundabout, covering a march of Congress MPs, who were heading toward Jantar Mantar in buses to protest against alleged SIR irregularities and demand the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar.
Because it had no roof-access ladder, there was no way we could climb down safely. As a result, I couldn’t click photos of Rahul’s detention. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Delhi | Silver Rate in Delhi | Bank Holidays in Delhi | Public Holidays in Delhi | Delhi AQI | Weather in Delhi | Petrol Price in Delhi | Diesel Price in Delhi | CNG Price in Delhi | LPG Price in Delhi Stay updated with the latest Delhi news.
Earlier, this Monday, police had issued an advisory asking journalists to “maintain a reasonable and safe distance” from these protests. The area was teeming with security personnel from various forces, including police, all tasked with blocking opposition politicians, including Congress’s Rahul Gandhi . As soon as buses carrying protesters ground to a halt, cops began detaining them. After a while, Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi stepped off a bus along with some MPs, sending the security personnel on high alert. To assess the scene, anticipate what could come next and get a clear vantage point, I teamed up with a few fellow photojournalists and climbed onto the roof of one of the buses brought in by police to detain the agitators. A few NSUI members were already up there waving flags. Suddenly, the bus started moving. We immediately started shouting and calling out to police to halt the bus, but our pleas were ignored. Desperate to signal what was happening, we waved our cameras in the air, hoping people on the road would notice and intervene, but nothing worked. The bus swung onto Ferozeshah Road. We were trapped on the roof, lying flat on our stomachs to dodge low-hanging tree branches while shouting warnings to one another to stay down. Fear gripped us as the bus gained further speed. Trying to keep my composure, I kept reassuring my fellow professionals that the driver would eventually have to stop at ITO intersection. Sure enough, the bus finally came to a standstill near Tilak Marg skywalk, allowing us to clamber down. The protesters who had been on the roof with us got off as well and deflated the tyres of the bus to buy time for everyone else to safely disembark. Following that directive ultimately kept me far from the heart of the action. Download the TOI App.