4,000 protestors arrested in Delhi during shutdown

Over 4,000 protestors were arrested and a similar number detained in the Indian capital during the countrywide shutdown called by opposition parties against rising fuel prices, a police officer said today.

Over 4,000 protestors were arrested and a similar number detained in the Indian capital during the countrywide shutdown called by opposition parties against rising fuel prices, a police officer said on Tuesday.

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"We arrested 4,142 protestors from various areas. We had made elaborate security arrangements with 70,000 police personnel deployed and additional forces were on strict vigil," a Delhi Police officer told IANS.

Around 4,380 protestors were detained by police. All those arrested and detained have been released.

"No major riot was reported in the city though the tyres of state-run Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses were deflated in some areas," the officer said.

A DTC official, however, said 31 buses were damaged.

The strike also affected certain Metro rail services as Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers barged into stations at Rajiv Chowk, Karol Bagh, Uttam Nagar, Janakpuri (East), Tilak Nagar and Patel Nagar.

"Some BJP supporters posing as passengers entered the Metro stations and shouted slogans. Some protestors also locked the gates of the Patel Nagar station creating problems for commuters," Pawan Kumar, a Delhi's Metro Citizens Forum volunteer, told IANS.