Protests hold traffic to ransom at CP

Six protest rallies by various groups and organisations from across the country crippled traffic in Connaught Place on Wednesday.

Six protest rallies by various groups and organisations from across the country crippled traffic in Connaught Place on Wednesday.

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With Parliament in session, the last 24-hours witnessed a spate of protests at Jantar Mantar and Tolstoy Marg in New Delhi district.

Late on Tuesday, the police detained five persons for allegedly pelting stones and rioting at Jantar Mantar.

The five have been identified as Mangesh Khandeja (30), Sanjeev Kumar Panda (43), Shiva (19), Dinanath Mishra (45) and Ramesh Sharma (33).

Police said they were part of a 1500-strong crowd from Maharashtra that had been protesting at Jantar Mantar for the last three days.

“They are slum dwellers from Mumbai and neighbouring locations protesting the razing of several slums by the civic authorities there,” said a senior police officer.

The police had to resort to use of water cannons, mild lathi charge and tear gas when the crowd.

“A commuter accidentally ran over the foot of a child squatting on the road. A group of youths, led by Khandeja, started hitting the biker. When the police intervened, they began pelting stones at them.”

On Wednesday, a 500-strong members belonging to Akhil Bhartiya Shiksha Adhikar Manch, an organisation fighting against ‘disparity’ in education, blocked the Ranjit Singh flyover for over 45 minutes.

“We sent a company of police personnel and it took an hour to clear the crowd. Traffic was disrupted during that time,” said a senior police officer, as he wasn’t authorised to speak to media.

Protests by a woman’s organisation and differently-abled people also took place at Jantar Mantar. But the police were able to control the crowd here without any glitches.