Hundreds of people from across the city assembled outside the Sahara Mall on Wednesday evening to stage a protest candle march against the recent gang rape of a woman pub worker.
Shouting slogans and carrying banners against the incident and city administration, the protesters stormed the Sahara Mall.
They also forced pubs in the mall to stop playing music and express solidarity with the victim.
"The police and city administration have failed to provide security to women. Yesterday, the administration said that 'women should not work after 8pm', it seems they don't want us to work after 8pm. This is a violation of our freedom," said Manju Sharma, a marketing executive, who joined the candle light protest march.
"Who is the city administration to restrict our freedom," asked Sharma.
Vaishali, an NGO worker, said, "The police and the city administration are behaving like the Taliban. The society has become insensitive towards women. We are not here to blame either police or the administration. But we have assembled to address the core issue of women's freedom. We as a society have to change our mindset towards women and give respect to them."
The majority of people who participated in the protest were youngsters to show their solidarity with the rape victim.
{{/usCountry}}The majority of people who participated in the protest were youngsters to show their solidarity with the rape victim.
{{/usCountry}}"We assembled here after reading on Facebook about the protest march," Ravi Sharma, a local resident, told Hindustan Times.