Police wait and watch ‘illegal’ gathering

As the India Against Corruption (IAC) team along with Rashtriya Vikalang Party members camped at Parliament Street on Sunday, apparently without any permission, the police are at a loss for words and treading with caution, Nivedita Khandekar and Jatin Anand report.

As the India Against Corruption (IAC) team along with Rashtriya Vikalang Party members camped at Parliament Street on Sunday, apparently without any permission, the police are at a loss for words and treading with caution.

HT Image

Barricades have been put up near the northern gate of Parliament Street police station even as large number of police personnel, including women, stood guard for the whole day and are continuing at night too.

Arvind Kejriwal had stormed Parliament Street on Saturday during his anti-corruption protest.

The weekend passed off with not much problems for traffic movement. However, it remains to be seen what would be the police action plan for Monday, a working day.

Kejriwal has declared, he would produce fresh evidence against Khurshid at 11 am on Monday.

“Yes, we are sitting without permission and we will continue agitation tomorrow,” said Manish Sisodia, another IAC leader.

The police are holding their cards very close to the chest on Kejriwal’s apparently ‘illegal’ gathering.

Though police conceded that the gathering was unlawful given the fact that neither Kejriwal nor the disabled persons’ group had not sought prior approval before staging the sit-in, an officer said said they would wait and proceed with extreme caution on the matter.

“Sometimes, there are gatherings such as this that take place without prior permission. (However) at this juncture, it wouldn’t be correct to say anything on the matter,” said another officer.