As crowd outside the Delhi Police Headquarters reduced in number on the second day of protest, it also appeared to be losing its seriousness simultaneously. largely dominated by members of Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Admi Party (AAP), the protest against the brutal rape appeared more to be a means of showcasing their presence.
The AAP members could be seen having samosa, pakoda and soft drinks as also they missed no opportunity to indulge in theatrics to mark their presence. A number of them, wearing white caps with ‘main hoon aam aadmi’ imprinted, could be seen enjoying the pleasant weather as against the scorching heat on Saturday. They were working in shifts and created a rather light atmosphere at the protest venue. The protesters even tore pamphlets distributed by police appealing for calm.
So much was the desperation of the AAP members that they even went on to credit their leader Arvind Kejriwal for forcing the police to register FIR in the present rape case. “It was only on insistence of Kejriwal that the police swung into action and registered a case of rape against the accused,” the AAP members shouted. They had also roped in young children to the protest venue. The youngest protester started howling (without tears) in the middle of the protest. However, having failed to draw enough attention from the media, he immediately returned to normal. A lot many could also be noticed having a ‘good time’ as they were spotted with persistent smiles on their faces instead of the anger. They were also unmoved by the traffic snarls caused, especially during evening, after police had to block Vikas Marg due to their protests.
The AAP activists have been holding protests in front of Delhi Police Headquarters for the past two days demanding the removal of Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar. Protesters were also demanding arrest of policemen who were accused of delaying the registration of a case and offering money to hush up the matter. Police had put up barricades to keep the protesters away from the headquarters and protesters spilled over to the Vikas Marg. The protesters, in evening, tried to march towards PM’s residence were stopped by personnel at ITO as soon as they started. Police erected barricades at ITO which led to stoppage of vehicular movement from Vikas Marg to CP.