The heat of the violent clash at Satlok Ashram that kept Hisar boiling on Tuesday was also felt in the Capital. A protest in support of controversial godman Rampal was also held at Jantar Mantar here.
But unlike the scenario at the Haryana town where a police crackdown to arrest Rampal from the Ashram met with a violent resistance, the protest at Jantar Mantar went ahead with no untoward incident reported till late evening.
The protesters had initially made an announcement that they would gather around Supreme Court, but did not receive police permission to do so. It was in the afternoon that they started gathering at Jantar Mantar.
There was a large presence of women and children among the protesters.
Carrying pictures of Swami Rampal as well as the Indian saint Kabir, the protesters alleged that the “system was unfair towards Satguru Sant Rampalji Maharaj”.
“We are here to oppose the tyranny and injustice by the judiciary, police and the Government of Haryana,” said a protester.
They also demanded that the investigation need to be carried out by either a Special Investigating Team or the Central Bureau of Investigation because they had little faith in the Haryana government. The group also submitted memorandums to the Union Home Minister as well as the president.
Some of their ire was also reserved for the media who, they blamed, was portraying the ‘saint’ in a bad light.
A senior police officer said keeping the large gathering in mind, heavy security deployment was put in place. As an additional security measure, various parts of the Jantar Mantar Road, linking it to other important stretches such as Ashoka Road and Parliament Street were barricaded.
Some of them also climbed atop the barricades and threatened to jump on to the other side. The police had to request them to maintain calm.
