PTI | Dec 23, 2012, 02.49 PM IST
Students shout slogans during a protest to demand justice for the gang rape victim at India Gate in New Delhi on Saturday.NEW DELHI: Teargas shells were lobbed and water cannons used at protesters at India Gate agitating against the gang rape of a young girl today as they marched towards Raisina Hills, hours after police evacuated demonstrators from there and Sonia Gandhi's residence.
This was the second successive day that police resorted to lobbing teargas shells and use of waterjets besides using force to contain the protest demanding speedy justice and stringent punishment for the accused in last Sunday night's incident. Doctors said the condition of the victim continues to be critical.
A group of protesters also met Sonia and Rahul Gandhi during which the Congress top leaders assured speedy action while refusing to give a time-frame for it.
Some protesters indulged in violence as they stopped East Delhi MP Sandeep Dikshit at India Gate, heckled him and damaged his car as well as a government jeep ferrying officials and clashed with the police while trying to march towards Raisina Hills, where Rashtrapati Bhavan and key government ministries are located.
Central Delhi faced huge traffic chaos due to a security clampdown on Rajpath even as protesters blocked roads near India Gate.
Teargas shells were lobbed at the agitators near India Gate at around 1pm as they tried to enter Rajpath to head towards Raisina Hills. However, later they were allowed to proceed in a bid to ease traffic on the radial road.
The protesters then tried to cross the barricades and clashed with the police who resorted to the use of water cannons at 1:15pm.
Early this morning, around 50-60 protesters, who stayed put at Raisina Hills throughout the night and some others infront of Sonia Gandhi's 10, Janpath residence, were evacuated while high drama was witnessed at India Gate when agitators resisted police attempts to detain them for defying prohibitory orders.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Delhi-gang-rape-Police-use-teargas-water-cannons-against-protesters/articleshow/17730411.cms?prtpage=1
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Gangrape protest live: Ramdev demands capital punishment for culprits, calls police action against protesters 'brutal'
DELHI, Updated Dec 23, 2012 at 02:17pm IST
New Delhi: 2.06 pm: The sixth accused, a minor, in the gangrape case has agreed for Test Identification Parade (TIP), which will be held on December 26.
1.36 pm: "Protesters need to be addressed by the solution makers like Chief Minister, Lt Governor, Police Commissioner. The youth needs to be addressed properly. There is not a single woman in India including me who has not been harassed," says former IPS officer and anti-corruption activist Kiran Bedi. She further added that police need to show patience.
1.35 pm: Ramdev demanded capital punishment for the accused. "We want a fast-track court on such cases," he said. He also condemned police action against protesters and said if he and his supporters will be stopped, they will walk bare foot.
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1.27: Police use water cannons to disperse crowds at India Gate.
1.21 pm: Around 20 buses carrying Baba Ramdev's supporters were stopped as they were heading towards India Gate.
1.16 pm: Entire Ring Road from Pragati Maidan to India Gate in New Delhi is jammed following protests.
1.07 pm: Heavy deployment of police on UP-Delhi border.
12.54 pm: Protesters return to India Gate.
12.24 pm: "Sonia Gandhi had called a meeting with the protesters, she heard all their demands and suggestions. We appeal to protesters to maintain peace," says MoS Home RPN Singh.
12.20 pm: Protesters say Rahul Gandhi told them that the government will take time to amend the laws.
12.19 pm: "Sonia has assured that the accused will be given harsh punishment. We will meet the jugde also. We are Indians, we won't give out our names. We will go to Jantar Mantar to protest," say protesters after meeting Sonia Gandhi at 10 Janpath.
12.17 pm: Sonia meets protesters again, assures tough action against culprits.
11.43 am: Condition of the victim has deteriorated. Doctors say she is facing respiratory problems again. She might have to be put on ventilator again.
11.17 am: Delhi Chief Minister Shiela Dikshit appeals to protesters to calm down and asks police not to resort to lathicharge. "Section 144 should have been imposed earlier if the police had sensed a massive protest. Tear gas and lathicharge should be a last resort," she said.
10.52 am: Aam Adami Party National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal condemns prohibitory orders in Delhi. He says he along with his friends will defy Section 144 in the city. "Government of India in war with people of India," tweets Kejriwal.
10.39 am: Heavy deployment of CRPF and Delhi Police at India Gate.
10.07: Protesters defy detention as police crack down at India Gate.
9.20 am: Prohibitory orders under Section 144 CrPC have been imposed in New Delhi district except Jantar Mantar. Protesters may go to Ramlila Maidan or Jantar Mantar. Traffic has been diverted from Vijay Chowk and Rajpath.
9.19 am: Rajpath, C Hexagon to Vijay Chowk, Rajpath crossing, Rafi Marg, Janpath, Mansingh Road are blocked: Delhi Police.
9.18 am: As per the advisory from Delhi Police, metro stations at Barakhamba, Mandi House and Khan Market have also been shut.
8.26 am: All routes leading to Rashtrapati Bhawan have been barricaded. Vijay Chowk has been completely cleared by police. Police have urged protesters to move to Ramlila ground. "We will not let protesters gather at India gate, if people try to enter the area they will be detained," said a Delhi Police official.
7.38 am: Police have evacuated protestors from Vijay Chowk and India Gate. Section 144 has been imposed in the New Delhi district.
The otherwise sleepy Raisini Hill was on Saturday night abuzz with activity with a large number of youths shouting slogans against the government and holding candlelight vigil to protest against the gangrape of a young girl in a moving bus in the national capital on the fateful night of November 16. It's been a week since the incident but protests have refused to die down with hundreds taking to the street in Delhi.
As the protesters braved the winter chill in the national capital and held overnight protests at India Gate and Vijay Chowk near Parliament, police on Sunday early morning evacuated them from the areas and took them away in a bus. Protesters were also picked up from outside Congress chief Sonia Gandhi's residence - 10, Janpath. Section 144 has also been imposed in New Delhi district and four metro stations near India Gate - Patel Chowk, Central Secretariat, Udyog Bhawan and Race Course - have been shut from Sunday morning till further orders.
Meanwhile, the 23-year-old gangrape victim has been off the ventilator support system for almost two days now. Doctors at Safdarjung hospital - where she is undergoing treatment - said she is responding well and is psychologically composed. Doctors also tried to take her off the bed and made her take a few steps. They said they would continue with the exercise but it would still take some time before she could actually walk on her own.
Two of the six accused arrested on Friday were brought to Delhi on Saturday. While one accused was sent to three-day police custody, the other being a minor was sent to a remand home. The victim had given her statement to the sub-divisional magistrate on Saturday and Delhi Police said it was a very "bold statement".
Union Minister Sushilkumar Shinde had on Saturday announced a slew of measures to contain rape incidents in the country. But his announcement couldn't cut much ice with the protesters as they continued to shout slogans against the government. He said the "government will see if the existing rape laws can be enhanced", adding that he will consult the Law Ministry for the provision of death penalty.
Shinde had further assured that action would be taken against the errant policemen who were on duty at checkposts on the fateful night, adding that four to five of them would be suspended. In fact, eight of them were suspended on Saturday morning.
Meanwhile, more protests have been planned across the country on Sunday. At 8 am at India Gate, cycling groups from across Delhi, accompanied by joggers, skate-boarders and others, will walk from Rajpath to the Rajtrapati Bhawan, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's residence and Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit's house. India Against Corruption activists will flag off a protest at Jantar Mantar at 3 pm. In Chennai, Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party and Tamil actress Trisha will be holding protests, while protests have also been planned in Mumbai, Bhopal, Hyderabad and Bangalore.
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/delhi-gangrape-protesters-spent-night-at-india-gate-govt-cracks-down/311874-3-244.html
Police evacuate protesters
23 Dec 2012, 0938 hrs IST, AGENCIES
Police today evacuated a number of protesters from Raisina Hill and outside Congress chief Sonia Gandhi's residence where they had stayed put since last night to protest against the gang-rape of a 23-year-old girl.
The protesters, most of them students who spent a chilly night in the open after they fought pitched battles with police throughout the day yesterday at Raisina Hill, were taken into a bus by police in an early morning operation. Around 6:30 AM, police suddenly moved in buses into the area, made announcements about clamping Section 144 of CrPC prohibiting assembly of more than four persons in the area and herded the protesters into the buses.
Most of the around 50 protesters at Raisina Hill could not do much as dense fog had hampered visibility. Protesters shouted slogans inside the bus. Outside Gandhi's residence also, protesters were taken into a bus.
Police have been deployed in abundance in Raisina Hill and India Gate anticipating protests throughout the day today being a Sunday.
In a surprise move late last night, Gandhi had came out of her residence and met protesters. According to a protester, Gandhi told them "I am with you. I can't tell when the justice will be delivered, but surely it will be. We will do something." When the protesters asked for a deadline, she said, "I can't give you a deadline but action will be taken."
The detentions came as part of a police plan to contain protests near Raisina Hill, the seat of power.
Six metro stations near India Gate and Raisina Hill have already been closed from this morning till further orders. The stations which remained closed were Patel Chowk, Central Secretariat, Udyog Bhavan, Race Course, Barakhamba and Mandi House.
Refusing to relent, the small group of protesters braved cold and fog to spend the night at the Raisina Hill raising vociferous slogans and stood, some with candles in solidarity with the 23-year-old girl battling for her life. The protesters who started gathering after 11 PM, consisted of mostly young men and women, some accompanied by their parents, middle-aged persons, among others.
"I'm going to spend the whole night here in her support. I, myself have been a victim of harassment by an old man no less. I don't feel safe in the city and therefore I always carry a knife around with me," a graphic designer, who had come from Govindpuri area in South Delhi, told PTI.
Couple Seema and Suresh who couldn't answer their 6-year-old daughter when she had asked as to what "darindgi" or devilishness meant, decided to land here and lend full support to the cause. "My 6-year-old daughter after watching TV asked me-'Mommy, what does 'darindgi' mean?'- I did not know how or what to answer," mother Seema said.
Amidst biting weather and misty air, logs of wood and day-time banners served as fuel for the bonfire as protesters sat in circles trying to warm themselves up while shouting 'We want justice' and other slogans, as others soon joined the chorus.
Diwakar, a professional, came along with his five other friends from Gurgaon. "One of our friends just landed in Delhi from Lucknow and he also decided to join us here. Cold night, what cold night? "This is nothing compared to what pains the girl went through. My heart weeps for her and I just wanted to be here for her," Diwakar said.
The main entrance to the Rashtrapti Bhavan and the North-South Blocks remained cordoned off as 500-odd security personnel continued to guard the heavily barricaded entrance which the protesters had attempted to storm several times during the day time clashes with the police.
As some protesters left at about 2 AM, another group of youngsters from Janakpuri streamed in. They were asked whether their parents allowed them to come? "Allowed, of course they did. We also have sisters and daughters in our family. We want the society to be safer from them and don't want any repeat of this heinous act," the boys
from Jankpuri said.
Prohibitory orders clamped, protesters defy police
23 Dec 2012, 1058 hrs IST, AGENCIES
Hours after police evacuated demonstrators from Raisina Hills and Sonia Gandhi's residence, high drama was witnessed at India Gate today when agitators resisted police attempts to detain them for defying prohibitory orders to protest against the gangrape of a young girl.
The protesters assembled near the war memorial from 9 AM when they were asked to vacate the location by the police which said the area was under Section 144 of CrPC which bans the assembly of four or more persons. As the protesters remained defiant, police forcibly removed them from the spot.
Some of the protesters tried to get out of the police van but were pushed back into the vehicle. Later, the protesters also punctured the tyres of the bus which was carrying them while a group of girls lay down in front of it.
Women protesters alleged that they were manhandled by male police personnel though women police were present at the spot. "We are here to protest a heinous crime. We have the right to protest," said Pushpa, a Nepali national, who is pursuing studies here.
Earlier in the morning, the police evacuated a number of protesters from area of Raisina Hills, where Rashtrapati Bhavan and key government offices are located, and outside Congress chief Sonia Gandhi's 10, Janpath residence where they had stayed put since last night to protest against the gang-rape of the 23-year-old girl on Sunday last.
The protesters, most of them students, who spent a chilly night in the open after they fought pitched battles with the police throughout the day yesterday at Raisina Hills, were taken into a bus in an early morning operation.
Outside Gandhi's residence also, protesters were taken into custody. A large number of police men were deployed and Raisina Hills and Rajpath were barricaded. Eight Metro stations near India Gate and Raisina Hills were closed as part of police preparations to contain the agitation.
The police clamped prohibitory orders in New Delhi district and asked protesters to stage demonstrations either at Jantar Mantar or Ramlila Maidan.
A Delhi Police statement said, "Protestors may go to Ramlila Maidan or Jantar Mantar. Traffic has been diverted from Vijay Chowk and Rajpath." It said prohibitory orders under section 144 of CrPC have been issued in New Delhi area except Jantar Mantar.
Anticipating more protests on the gang-rape issue, eight Delhi Metro stations near Raisina Hill and India Gate were also closed for public. Last night, it was decided to close four stations -- Patel Chowk, Central Secretariat, Udyog Bhawan and Race Course -- but this morning it was extended to four more--Barakhamba Road, Mandi House, Khan Market and Pragati Maidan.
Though the commuters were less in the morning it being Sunday, the few who chose to take the Metro to reach these destinations were put to hardship as they unaware of the announcement made late last night by DMRC.
Delhi Metro's decision came on the directions of the Delhi Police. The stations will remain closed till further orders. "The stations will remain closed till DMRC gets further orders from the Delhi Police. All the four stations are close to India Gate. However, interchange will be allowed at Central Secretariat station," DMRC officials said.
The police move came a day after thousands of youths clashed with the police at Raisina Hills protesting against the gang-rape and demanding speedy punishment to the accused.
http://www.timesnow.tv/Prohibitory-orders-clamped-protesters-defy-police/articleshow/4417366.cms