Five persons were detained on Sunday when a group of 50-60 protesters gathered at India Gate to highlight Delhi’s worsening air quality and demand action against the pollution crisis.
The protest began around 4 p.m. and continued for more than two hours despite repeated interventions and forceful dispersal attempts by the police. “We gathered at India Gate for a peaceful protest aimed at drawing the Delhi government’s attention to the worsening air quality. Instead of listening to our concerns, the police brutally manhandled our members and tried to suppress the agitation,” said Kranti, from Himkhand, one of the participating groups.
Heavy deployment
The protesters said that five among them were detained and taken to the Parliament Street police station. Personnel from the local police station, along with the CRPF’s Rapid Action Force, were deployed in large numbers around the site. “We were putting forth our demands peacefully. But the heavy deployment tried to restrict our movement and physically removed several members from the protest site. Many of our female members were also manhandled by male officers,” said another participant. A similar anti-pollution protest was held on November 9.
