New Delhi, Dec 22 (IANS) The country's highest seat of power - the Raisina Hill - was Saturday turned into a virtual battlefield as thousands of furious and determined youngsters marched towards Rashtrapati Bhavan, raising slogans and demanding justice for the 23-year-old woman who was brutally gang-raped and is battling for life.
While the entire stretch of about 2.5 km from India Gate to Raisina Hill was packed to the rafters with protesters, the fury towards authorities was palpable miles away.
The numbers kept on swelling as all roads literally led to the president house in an unprecedented protest rarely seen earlier.
The mass outpouring for the young woman even overwhelmed the securitymen, who found themselves outnumbered. The matters came to a head when the protesters tried a repeat of Friday when a large number of people tried to enter the Rashtrapati Bhavan, which houses President Pranab Mukherjee.
But despite, the police barricades, the surging crowd tried to push their way through Raisina Hill that leads to Rashtrapati Bhavan. Raisina Hill also houses the South Block and the North Block, which has all the prime minister's office, home ministry, finance ministry and the defence ministry.
The police then resorted to canning, threw tear gas shells and sprayed them with water in the winter chill. But, the youth power continued to push their way through. Police resorted to canning at least three times.
The police chasing youngsters and beating them with canes, aired live by television channels, led to widespread condemnation.
It, however, failed to dampen the spirits of the young people, demanding justice for the 23-year-old physiotherapist who was brutally raped by six men and was later stripped, beaten and thrown off the moving bus alongwith her boyfriend on the roadside.
The angry youngsters then resorted to violence and pelted stones and damaged public and police buses. Girls in retailiation threw bangles, water bottles, coins and slippers.
Armed with banners, posters, placards, the crowd, which stayed put at the entire stretch from morning till late evening, raised slogans "we want justice" and waved their fists in the air. Many of them climbed atop the police buses and waived the tri-colour.
In a unique way to protest, many girls and boys climbed the flagpoles that dot Rajpath, which leads to India Gate, the memorial of the unknown soldiers.
The protesters-majority of them from various Delhi colleges along with some school students may have come from different backgrounds but the issue of women's safety in the capital united them as they gave a clarion call to the authorities to finally take some coorective measures to make women feel safe in the city described by many as a rape capital.
Since early morning, young and old, men and women started collecting at India Gate for the fifth day in a row. But soon they started walking towards Raisina Hill.
Though, the agitators were allowed to protest peacefully on Vijay Chowk that leads to the Rashtrapati Bhavan, their plans to go beyond and enter Raisina Hills were thwarted by the security forces as they barricaded the road in between the north and south block.
However, the police got a taste of their own medicine when some protesters picked up the freshly fired tear gas shells and flung them back at the security personnel.
Many of the protesters sustained injuries and had to be rushed to nearby Ram Manohar Lohia hospital.
The police aggression though, failed to weaken the morale of the youngsters as wave after wave of protesters, refusing to budge, returned with more vehemence and in greater numbers.
"They can try their best to stop us but lets' see who gives up first we have had enough and its time for a change. We will force this corrupt police and government to mend its ways," said a fuming Shikha Verma, a Delhi University student.
A police official, requesting anonymity admitted that they can do nothing to pacify the crowds.
To calm the protesters, senior police offficials flocked the protest site. Overseeing the mass protests from atop north block, police officials made public announcements to not to resort to violence.
A couple of hours into the protest and the signs of conflict and the crowds fury was eminent with torn posters, empty water bottles and shreds of glass strewn across the verdant lawns of Rajpath.
The manicured lawns too bore the brunt as some of the crowd intentionally broke flower pots while others crushed the finely trimmed bushes and plants as they scurried for cover in a bid to escape from the police charging with batons.
A huge billboard made up of flower petals welcoming the just concluded ASEAN delegates was particularly targeted and wrecked. A poster demanding strong anti-rape laws was instead glued on the board.
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