NEW DELHI: Members of the Revolutionary Workers' Party of India (RWPI) said they were confined to the children's library they run in northeast Delhi's Karawal Nagar on Wednesday (November 11), hours before a planned march from Ramlila Maidan to Jantar Mantar against the capital's worsening air quality. The organisation said several children were inside the premises when police personnel arrived.
The organisation alleged that those inside were told they would not be allowed to leave and that the move was intended to prevent the march. The organisation did not specify how many members were confined. Delhi Police did not respond to requests for confirmation of the number of people held or the legal provisions, if any, under which restrictions were imposed.
Delhi recorded a citywide Air Quality Index (AQI) of 303 on Wednesday morning, placing it in the 'very poor' category, according to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data. The readings came after concerns over missing data during Diwali night, when 36 of Delhi's 59 monitoring stations were not reporting PM2.5 readings at 1 am on November 9, according to an analysis reported by The Indian Express.
The planned march followed a similar protest on November 1, when members of the RWPI and the Disha Students' Organisation marched from Ramlila Maidan towards Jantar Mantar after the INDIA bloc rally. Police and paramilitary personnel stopped them at Minto Road. Twenty-two protesters were taken in two buses to the Dwarka Sector 23 and Jafarpur Kalan police stations and released around 2 am the following day.
Delhi Police at the time registered an FIR on November 2 under Sections 223(a), 132, 221, 121(1), 3(5) and 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The provisions relate to disobedience of orders, assault or use of criminal force against public servants, obstruction of public servants, voluntarily causing hurt to deter a public servant from duty, common intention and criminal conspiracy.
(with inputs from media organisations)