Delhi Police had purportedly cautioned the Aam Aadmi Party against staging the land Acquisition Bill protest at Jantar Mantar saying it could get out of hand. The party was given Ramlila Maidan as an alternate choice of venue. But AAP defied the repeated warnings issued to it and went ahead with its protest at Jantar Mantar.
The rally is now mired in controversy because of the suicide of a farmer in front of leading AAP members, including Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.
A letter dated April 17 from Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi district) Vijay Singh, accessed by The Pioneer, revealed that the police had estimated a gathering of around 10,000 to 12,000 people at AAP’s rally. In a letter addressed to Neeraj Kumar,
organiser of the rally, DCP had advised AAP to restrict the gathering to below 5,000 so that there is “equitable distribution of space for other protesters at Jantar Mantar.” “As you are aware that a large number of organisations/individuals hold protest/dharna etc. at Jantar Mantar Road, during Parliament session w.e.f. April 20, there would be a huge rush of participants affiliated to various organisations coming to hold protest at Jantar Mantar… In case, it is planned to hold the
proposed programme where participants (in your programme) may go beyond 5,000, it is suggested that DCP/Central District, Delhi may be approached for holding the above programme of such huge gathering at Ramlila Ground,” wrote DCP Singh.
Subsequently, in another letter dated April 21 (a day before the rally), Delhi Police increased its estimate of number of participants to 20,000. It warned the party that such a large assembly on a minuscule stretch of road would not only trigger traffic gridlock and
disrupt normal life around the place, it could restrict the space available for safe movement, channelisation and quick dispersal of crowd, in case of any contingency. “Experience has shown that overcrowding at venues having limited capacity can cause
stampedes, leading to loss of life and property. It is understandable that in the event of any such mishap, the loss could well extend to the residents and visitors to the area, including the participants, in the protest,” wrote the DCP in the letter.
Despite subsequent warnings, the protest rally was held at Jantar Mantar on Wednesday where Gajendra Singh, a farmer, committed suicide by hanging himself from a tree in full public view, and in presence of security personnel and AAP leaders, including Kejriwal and Sisodia.