Delhi gangrape: Protesters clash with police

As hundreds of students marched towards Rashtrapati Bhavan again on Saturday, demanding justice for the 23-year-old gangrape victim, police fired teargas shells, used water cannons and lathi charged on them.

A boy and a girl and a traffic policeman were injured as the police directed water jets and opened a volley of teargas shells that pushed them back a little even as some of the protesters braved the chill and hurled waterbottles and shoes at the policemen.

Window panes of a police van were smashed. One of the girls broke the glass window of a bus with her hands.

The police action came as'negotiations' failed at Raisina Hill leading to Rashtrapati Bhawan failed and the protesters, comprising largely young women and men, tried to breach the barricades to push towards the Rashtrapati Bhawan.

The protest spot resembled a battle zone with empty shells and wet roads. The area has been cordoned off and police reinforcements have been rushed to the Hill that divides the North and South Block, which houses the Prime Minister's Office.

Girl protesters alleged that policemen hit them with lathis and declared they will launch a sit-in in the area. Protests refused to disperse from the place.

Moreover, An injured girl was rushed to hospital.

The youths had gathered at India Gate from early in the morning and marched through Rajpath towards Raisina Hill.

On Thursday too, the capital witnessed several protests including the one in front of Rashtrapati Bhawan.

Former Army Chief V K Singh who joined the demonstrators at the India Gate said "You see this problem is because of systemic failure of governance. Police reforms have been lying in cold storage for the last so many years. Why haven't they done anything about it? Why do we have to hear such things from a police commissioner saying that he doesn't have man-power? It is shameful.

"Why do you have to see the spectacle on television where Ministry of Home officials have to go out on the streets checking things? Isn't there a failure? This needs to be addressed. This failure comes because of political and bureaucratic apathy in this country," he added.

Photo by Rangnath Tiwari

NBSA censures TV 18 for 'biased'...

Indefinite bandh affects normal life in...

Post Comments

Delhi gangrape: Protesters clash with police

Previous Story

Next Story