Several protestors were injured in the police action during the protest organised by India Against Corruption here on Sunday.
The police lathi-charged, lobbed tear gas shells and used water cannon to disperse the protesters who split into three separate groups to gherao the residences of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Bharatiya Janta Party president Nitin Gadkari. The protesters sustained injuries on their heads and limbs.
The police resorted to lathi-charge when the protesters tried to enter Prime Minister’s 7 Race Course Road residence. “Though we were raising slogans, our protest was peaceful. The police used force to drive us out. When we refused to budge from the place near the Prime Minister’s residence, we were beaten with sticks,” said Vikas Pandey, whose shoulder was dislocated following the lathi-charge.
Vikas, a civil services aspirant who sustained injuries in other parts of his body as well, said he did not regret joining the protests.
“Such things do happen but people have to come out on the streets to raise voice against the corruption in the country. I am glad I was there today,” Vikas said with a smile on his face even as he looked in discomfort with a bandage around his arm.
Another protestor, Vikram Bisht, remained defiant and expressed solidarity with the “anti-corruption agenda of Arvind Kejriwal and his associates”. A young man even thanked the police after he was beaten up.
One protestor sustained injuries when he was hit by a tear gas shell. People were seen running helter-skelter searching for water to apply on their eyes.
Some protestors who initially claimed that the police was on their side started raising slogans against the police later when they used force against them.
No ambulances
There were no ambulances present at the venues nor was any arrangement made to provide instant medical care to the injured protestors.
People who had gathered to support the first such protest since Anna Hazare decided to dissolve his team last month, seemed optimistic about IAC’s future and that of similar anti-corruption movements across the country.
“People fight over petty sums of money, but here crores of rupees belonging to the people are being looted by our politicians. We are not willing to fight for what is rightfully ours,” said Anoop Khanna from Noida referring to the recent Comptroller and Auditor-General’s report on coal blocks allocation.
