Thousands of Sikhs, led by the Shiromani Akali Dal Delhi (Badal) and the Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee, staged a demonstration outside the 10 Janpath residence of Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday to protest the acquittal of the former party MP, Sajjan Kumar, in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case.
The protesters, who began their demonstration from Kapurthala House at Connaught Place, marched towards Ms. Gandhi’s residence, raising slogans against the Congress. The police tried to restrain them by putting up barricades on Akbar Road, but several demonstrators, led by DSGMC chairman Manjinder Singh Sirsa, managed to break these and reached the Congress president’s residence.
They sburnt effigies of Mr. Kumar and tyres in front of Ms. Gandhi’s residence. Later, a minor clash took place between the police and the protesters, who were then detained and taken to the Tughlak Road police station. But the security personnel still had a tough time pacifying the protesters. Upon reaching the police station, they blocked its entrance.
Fearing a violent turn to the events, the police then got the Race Course metro station shut down for a while.
Another section continued a peaceful protest on Akbar Road under the leadership of Delhi SAD president Manjit Singh. He said they had gathered there seeking punishment for all those involved in the riots. The police detained this group and took it to the Parliament Street police station.
