Delhi Police have registered multiple FIRs over Wednesday’s INDIA bloc protest in New Delhi, citing alleged obstruction, assault on police personnel and violation of prohibitory orders, while 91 people were detained during the confrontation near Windsor Place.
Police sources said one FIR concerned the alleged obstruction of police personnel and assault on police officers. Another was registered under Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita for disobedience of an order duly promulgated by a public servant. Police said details of a third FIR were not immediately available.
The cases followed a confrontation involving Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and other Opposition MPs, who were stopped near Windsor Place while attempting to march towards the Election Commission headquarters. Police said restrictions under Section 163 of the BNSS were in force in the New Delhi area at the time of the protest.
According to police sources, officers are examining footage recorded on mobile phones to identify people allegedly involved in pushing, obstructing or assaulting police personnel. The footage includes incidents involving women officers and constables, police said. Videos circulated on social media showed officers asking protesters to leave and citing obstruction caused to commuters and traffic. Other clips showed heated exchanges and scuffles between protesters and police personnel.
Police alleged that some protesters manhandled officers when personnel attempted to disperse the gathering. A tussle also broke out as officers tried to move the protesting MPs away from the location. The allegations are now part of the police investigation and the FIR process.
The developments have also brought a separate protest-permission dispute before the Delhi High Court. The court agreed on Thursday to hear on Friday a plea by the Indian Youth Congress seeking permission to hold a demonstration against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar at Jantar Mantar. The plea was mentioned for urgent listing before a bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Nitin Wasudeo Sambre and Justice Sanjay Sharma.
The High Court told the petitioner’s counsel that if the matter was not taken up on Friday, it could be mentioned again. The Indian Youth Congress had applied to Delhi Police on September 25 for permission to hold a peaceful demonstration involving 100 to 150 people at Jantar Mantar between October 1 and October 25.
On October 3, the organisation approached the High Court through its national president, Uday Bhanu Chib, challenging a Delhi Police communication dated October 1 that denied permission for the protest. The petition invoked the fundamental rights to freedom of speech and expression and peaceful assembly under Articles 19(1)(a) and 19(1)(b) of the Constitution. The court hearing is the next formal development in the permission dispute.
