A large number of citizens gathered at Delhi’s India Gate on Sunday evening to protest against the worsening air quality in the national capital. However, the demonstration quickly turned violent and chaotic after some protesters allegedly attacked police personnel with chilli spray while being removed from the site, and raised slogans supporting Madvi Hidma – a top Maoist leader who was killed in an encounter in Andhra Pradesh earlier this month.
According to the police, the protesters sat in the middle of the road at India Gate without permission for around an hour, raising slogans and waving posters. When the police intervened and asked the demonstrators to stop the protest, they reportedly turned violent by spraying chilli spray, injuring three to four cops.
Officials said the personnel are undergoing treatment at the Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital.
As the cops continued to disperse the protesters, a group of people raised slogans such as “Madvi Hidma Amar Rahe” (Long Live Madvi Hidma). A man can be seen holding a poster that read: “From Birsa Munda to Madvi Hidma, the struggle of our forests and environment will go on”.
Hidma, who was responsible for at least 26 armed attacks against security forces and civilians, was killed in an encounter on November 18. He was known for attacks, including the 2010 attack in Dantewada that claimed the lives of 76 CRPF personnel and the 2013 ambush in Jhiram Ghati that left 27 people, including top Congress leaders, dead. He also played a key role in the 2021 Sukma-Bijapur ambush in which 22 security personnel were killed.
The police have arrested 22 people so far in connection with the violence – six taken into custody at the Kartavyapath police station, while the remaining 17 at the Parliament Street police station.
Officials have also assured action against those who raised the Maoist slogans. “Those who raised such slogans at India Gate will be identified, and legal action will be taken against them. We will file a case against them,” they said.