New Delhi: Around 50 people, including RLD spokesperson Bhupender Chaudhary, who were on their way to join the wrestlers’ protest were detained by police from Delhi’s Ashoka road on Sunday.
Talking to IANS, Chaudhary, who is also a farmer leader, said that they were on their way to join the wrestlers’ protest and take part in mahapanchayat but were detained by police.
“We don’t know where the police are taking us in the bus. Now, we are on the road towards Gurugram. We wanted to peacefully take part in the protest,” said Chaudhary.
Earlier, Surendra Solanki, the president of Palam Khap, was detained and taken to the Vasant Vihar police station.
“Several Khap leaders have also been detained by police from the borders and taken to various police stations,” Solanki told IANS.
Meanwhile, Delhi Police counterparts in Haryana have also deployed cops in huge numbers on the borders connecting the national capital.
“We have deployed forces to stop anti-social elements from entering Delhi,” said a senior Haryana Police official at Sonipat border.
A farmer leader said that they have been stopped at Sonipat and police teams deployed there are not letting them pass, citing that they do not have any permission.
Sarv Khap mahapanchayat and protesting wrestlers had given a call to hold a women panchayat outside the newly constructed Parliament building in Delhi on May 28, the day Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled it.
Last week on Sunday, the mahapanchayat held in support of protesting wrestlers, which lasted over five hours at Haryana’s Meham town, claimed that women from across the nation would be participating in the panchayat scheduled for Sunday outside the newly constructed Parliament building.
According to Delhi Police, there is heavy deployment of police personnel in the vicinity of the Parliament building and no protester will be allowed to move towards the new building as permission has not been granted to hold the mahapanchayat.
Additionally, police pickets have been installed in central Delhi to ensure a strong presence and maintain law and order throughout the programme.
“Stringent security measures have been put in place to safeguard the event,” a senior police official earlier said, adding that police teams are continuously monitoring the Parliament building and nearby areas through CCTV cameras.
Thousands of police personnel have been deployed in the bordering areas, including Tikri, Ghazipur, Singhu and Badarpur borders and police are conducting thorough vehicle inspections for those entering from the borders.
The police have also made a formal request to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) seeking permission to establish a temporary jail at the MC Primary Girls School located at Kanjhawala Chowk, Old Bawana. This request has been made in case the need arises to ensure adequate law and order arrangements are in place.
Since April 23, prominent Indian wrestlers such as Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik, and Vinesh Phogat, who have achieved Olympic and World Championships recognition, have been staging a protest at Jantar Mantar against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
–IANS