New Delhi: Police on Sunday evacuated a number of protesters from Raisina Hill and outside Congress chief Sonia Gandhi`s residence where they had stayed put since last night to protest against the gang-rape of a 23-year-old girl.
The protesters, most of them students who spent a chilly night in the open after they fought pitched battles with police throughout the day yesterday at Raisina Hill, were taken into a bus by police in an early morning operation.
Around 6:30 am, police suddenly moved in buses into the area, made announcements about clamping Section 144 of CrPC prohibiting assembly of more than four persons in the area and herded the protesters into the buses.
Most of the around 50 protesters at Raisina Hill could not do much as dense fog had hampered visibility. Protesters shouted slogans inside the bus.
Outside Gandhi`s residence also, protesters were taken into a bus.
Police have been deployed in abundance in Raisina Hill and India Gate anticipating protests throughout the day today being a Sunday.
In a surprise move late last night, Gandhi had came out of her residence and met protesters.
According to a protester, Gandhi told them "I am with you. I can`t tell when the justice will be delivered, but surely it will be. We will do something."
The protesters when asked for a deadline, she said, "I can`t give you a deadline but action will be taken."
The detentions came as part of a police plan to contain protests near Raisina Hill, the seat of power.
Six metro stations near India Gate and Raisina Hill have already been closed from this morning till further orders. The stations which remained closed were Patel Chowk, Central Secretariat, Udyog Bhavan, Race Course, Barakhamba and Mandi House.
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PTI
