Traffic disrupted in central Delhi again as Cong protests ED quizzing Rahul

Special commissioner of police (law and order) Sagarpreet Hooda said that a total of 217 Congress leaders and cadre, including 15 members of parliament (MPs) were detained for carrying out the protest, despite no permission was granted. All of them were released later in the evening, he said.

Traffic was disrupted in parts of central and south Delhi, including roads leading to central Delhi from Gurugram, for the second consecutive day on Tuesday owing to road closures, restrictions, and diversions effected in view of protests organised by the Congress party to support their senior leader and member of Parliament Rahul Gandhi, who continued to be questioned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money-laundering case related to the National Herald newspaper.

Congress supporters staging a protest over ED’s summon to Rahul Gandhi on Monday. (ANI)

The ED had summoned Gandhi for questioning on Monday and again on Tuesday, with the result that similar to Monday, several senior party leaders -- Mallikarjun Kharge, Jairam Ramesh, Bhupesh Bhagel, Randeep Singh Surjewala, KC Venugopal, Adhir Ranjan Chaudhary, Deepender Hooda, Raghu Sharma, and Srinivas BV, among others -- were detained by the police on Tuesday as well. They were kept at different police stations, including Vasant Kunj and Badarpur, till late evening.

Special commissioner of police (law and order) Sagarpreet Hooda said that a total of 217 Congress leaders and cadre, including 15 members of parliament (MPs) were detained for carrying out the protest, despite no permission was granted. All of them were released later in the evening, he said.

Deputy commissioner of police (traffic) Aalap Patel said arrangements, akin to those put in place in central Delhi on Monday, were made on Tuesday as well. Nearly 350 traffic personnel, apart from security personnel from Delhi Police and paramilitary armed forces, were deployed on traffic duty and security detail.

In addition to the arrangements in central Delhi, barricades were also placed at the Delhi-Gurugram borders, especially in Rajokri, for checking vehicles and occupants entering Delhi. The checking was carried out on the basis of an intelligence input that several Congress leaders and their supporters from Rajasthan and Haryana may enter Delhi to join the protests against the quizzing of Gandhi by ED.

A party spokesperson alleged that Rajasthan Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasra was stopped by the Delhi Police from entering Delhi, even though he was on a personal visit.

A senior police officer denied the allegations and said, “We did not stop anyone from a personal visit.” Another officer said Dotasra was allowed to proceed after he told the police about his visit to his sister’s place.

“A police team escorted him to his sister’s place on the IIT Campus. The police left, leaving him with his relatives. We accompanied him to ensure that he did not reach the protest venue,” the second officer said, asking not to be named.

The checking of vehicles entering Delhi led to snarls, especially during the morning rush hour when many office-goers, coming to Delhi from Gurugram and other nearby areas in Haryana, were put to a lot of inconvenience. Many commuters claimed that they took more than the usual time to reach their destinations.

“No calls regarding serious traffic congestion or any untoward incident because of the arrangements were received by our traffic control room. Our traffic personnel handled the situation well and ensured minimum inconvenience to motorists,” DCP Patel claimed.

Earlier in the day, the traffic police issued advisories regarding road blockages, vehicular movement, restrictions, and diversions on social media. In a tweet around 6.30am, the police asked motorists to avoid Sardar Patel Marg, Dhaula Kuan flyover and Gurugram Road between 10.45am and 11.15am citing special traffic arrangements.

Around an hour later, the police issued three more advisories on Twitter related to routes between Congress’s headquarters on Akbar Road and the ED office on the APJ Abdul Kalam Road.

“Kindly avoid Motilal Nehru Marg, Akbar Road, Janpath & Man Singh Road between 0700 hrs & 1200 hrs. Due to special arrangements traffic movement will not be possible on these roads,” one of the tweets said. “Due to special traffic arrangements inwards movement of buses will be restricted in New Delhi beyond Gol Dak Khana Junction, Patel Chowk, Windsor Place, Teen Murti Chowk, Prithviraj Road,” the second tweet said.

The police also asked motorists to avoid Gol Methi junction, Tughlak Road Junction, Claridges Junction, Q-point Junction, Sunehri Masjid Junction, Maulana Azad Road Junction, and Man Singh Road Junction between 7am and noon due to heavy traffic movement.

A traffic police officer said adequate personnel were deployed in central Delhi to guide motorists and ensure a smooth flow of traffic.

In the evening around 5.45, the traffic police revised their advisory regarding SP Marg, Dhaula Kuan flyover and Gurugram Road by saying that “special arrangements will be in place between 9.15pm and 9.45pm. The traffic officer said this was due to a VVIP route.