Gang-rape protests: Sheila Dikshit Dikshit booed at Jantar Mantar

Sheila Dikshit was forced to go back from Jantar Mantar by the protesters, who have gathered at Jantar Mantar to show their solidarity to the 23-year-old gang-rape victim, who died early Saturday morning.

Zeenews Bureau

New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit was on Saturday forced to leave Jantar Mantar by the protesters, who have gathered here to show their solidarity with the 23-year-old gang-rape victim. The Delhi Chief Minister faced the brunt of the protesters as she reached the protest site. Dikshit had gone to Jantar Mantar to talk to people who are holding silent protest there following the death of the 23-year-old Delhi gang rape victim. "I had gone there to express my grief at the death of the girl," she told PTI when asked about her visit to Jantar Mantar. Furious young men and women were furious when they saw Dikshit approach the gathering with her security personnel, and began shouting: "Sheila Dikshit wapas jao!" and "Sheila Dikshit go back!" The Delhi CM visited the site to light a candle in the memory of the gang-rape victim, but angry people started shouting slogans against her. As she kept walking towards the site, the crowds became angrier and noisier. A shaken Chief Minister quickly lit a candle under a tree, bowed her head and quickly left. Scores of people mourned in silence the death of the gang-rape victim and demanded stringent punishment for the culprits. People had started gathering at Jantar Mantar at around 10 am and sat in silence. Aam Aadmi Party leaders Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and Kumar Vishwas are also protesting along with some of their supporters with their mouth tied with black cloth. Earlier in the day, Dikshit had said the death of the Delhi gang-rape victim was a shameful moment for her. While appealing for calm, Sheila Dikshit had described the young woman`s death as a "truly, terribly sad news". "Our heart goes to the family. My heart is burning over the incident. The passing away of the girl is a truly and terribly tragic incident. It shook our conscience," Dikshit had said. In metro trains and buses, on the streets and inside homes, the anger spilled over. The Delhi Police moved swiftly to seal India Gate and surrounding areas to foil street protests, but the ire was palpable. "This Sheila Dikshit must go," said one woman in Delhi Metro, and many nodded in agreement. "What about the Prime Minister and the Home Minister? They woke up so late," added another as the topic escalated into a full-fledged debate. The medical student, who was flown to Singapore after her brutal gang-rape and torture in the Indian capital died early Saturday at the Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore.