The Delhi police on Thursday detained more than 1,200 protesters, including politicians D. Raja, Sitaram Yechury, Nilotpal Basu, Brinda Karat, Ajay Maken, Sandeep Dikshit and activists Yogendra Yadav, Umar Khalid, from central Delhi during anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act protests in the national capital.
“Around 800 protesters, detained from near the Red Fort, Mandi House and other areas in central Delhi, were let off after a warning. Nearly 300 of them were taken to Surajmal Stadium in Nangloi, around 100 to Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Bawana and another 50 to Keshavpuram. They were all released by evening,” said Delhi police spokesperson M.S. Randhawa.
Around 8,000 security personnel were deployed to stop protesters from gathering at Red Fort, Mandi House and other places, except Jantar Mantar, in central Delhi. Reserve police personnel and paramilitary forces were also deployed.
Hundreds of flag-waving students and activists converged near Jantar Mantar in the afternoon after police forcefully evicted them from areas around the Red Fort and Mandi House. Permission for holding any demonstration at the two sites was not granted. A number of protesters offered roses to security personnel with a message of “love in return of hatred”. The police spokesperson said the protests ended peacefully.
(With inputs from PTI)
