Delhi gang-rape protests: VK Singh, Baba Ramdev booked for inciting mob and provoking crowd

Three cases of rioting have been registered by the police. Protesters led by Baba Ramdev and General Singh had clashed with the police at Jantar Mantar yesterday afternoon when they were prevented from marching towards India Gate, the epicentre of protests against the gang-rape of Amanat (NOT her real name) last Sunday.

Monday morning began with the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh addressing the nation and appealing for calm. In a short televised address, Dr Manmohan Singh said, "As a father of three daughters, I feel as strongly as you," but emphasised that violence would serve no purpose.

His Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde told NDTV that the protesters' bid to march to Rashtrapati Bhavan wasn't right. He, however, added that his government is not opposed to peaceful protests. "We assure the public that the guilty will be punished...We have met the agitators. Government can't go to India Gate...it's one and the same thing," he added.  

Mr Shinde also promised quick action in the case and met the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court Justice Darmar Murugesan. Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit too met with the Chief Justice; he reportedly told both senior leaders that five fast track courts would be set up immediately to handle cases related to crime against women.

The main opposition party, the BJP, has said the PM's response today was inadequate and has asked for an all-party meeting on the issue. It said it would also meet the President tomorrow. There has been huge criticism of the government for failing to reach out to thousands of young students leading the movement for tougher anti-rape laws and better security for women in the capital.

Delhi saw major traffic jams on several arterial roads today because of restrictions on movement in the area around India Gate, the site of clashes between the police and protesters over the weekend. All roads leading into the India  Gate hexagon have been closed since early this morning.

Nine Metro stations in the area are also closed, causing much inconvenience to office goers on a working Monday. Traffic snarls were reported on major roads around Pragati Maidan, the Nizamuddin Bridge, Shantipath, Chanakyapuri, Mother Teresa Cresent Road, Mathura Road, Khan Market, Mandi House and Barakhamba Road and other sections that link into the India Gate roads.

Delhi's Lieutenant Governor Tejinder Khanna cut short a vacation to the US and returned to the capital last night. As L-G Mr Khanna controls the Delhi Police and his absence through a week of law and order crisis in the Capital has been slammed, not least by Delhi Chief Minster Sheila Dikshit who had demanded that he be summoned back. At the core lies an old Delhi government complaint that law and order in the city is not under its control.

Mrs Dikshit has also criticised the Delhi Police for the way it has handled both security for woman in the city and the protests against the brutal rape in a moving bus of Amanat, the 23-year-old who continues to be critically ill in a Delhi hospital. After a meeting with Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde on Sunday, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit demanded yesterday that strict and immediate action be taken against officers and personnel responsible for dereliction of duty in connection with the rape incident. Police should be made accountable and responsive, she added.

On Sunday, thousands of protesters defied police orders and gathered at India Gate to demand stricter laws against rape and more safety for women in the capital. The police used tear-gas and water-cannons repeatedly, partly because some miscreants in the crowd set a car and wooden benches on fire. While the Delhi Police ensured that India Gate, the site of hostile demonstrations and police action over the weekend, remained off limits for all, a small group of protesters held demonstrations at Jantar Mantar in Delhi.