A look at Delhi gangrape protests

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 country's highest seat of power - the Raisina Hill - was on Saturday turned into a virtual battlefield as thousands of furious and determined youngsters marched towards Rashtrapati Bhavan. 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's House in an unprecedented protest.

The mass outpouring for the young woman even overwhelmed the security men, 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 caning, 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 caning at least three times.

The police chasing youngsters and beating them with canes, aired live by television channels, has led to widespread condemnation.

Several rounds of teargas shells and water cannons were used as young students demanding justice for the 23-year-old Delhi gangrape victim clashed with police at the Raisina Hill on Saturday, December 22, 2012.

The angry youngsters then resorted to violence and pelted stones and damaged public and police buses. Girls, in retaliation 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 waved 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 corrective measures to make women feel safe in the city, described by many as a rape capital.

Since early morning men and women, across all age groups, started congregating 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 security forces as they barricaded the road in between the North and South Block.

At that point of time the police, who were seen desperately trying to disperse the youths numbering around 1,000, used water cannons against the young protesters at Raisina Hills to disperse them.

Some people were removed by police and detained as the situation threatened to go out of hand. Many, including a traffic policeman, were injured in the melee when protesters threw stones, shoes and missiles in which police vehicles and buses were damaged.

Window panes of a police van were smashed. One of the girls broke the glass window of a bus with her hands. The police action came as 'negotiations' failed and the protesters, comprising largely of young women and men, tried to breach the barricades to push towards the Rashtrapati Bhavan. The protesters, however, braved the water cannons in the winter chill and refused to leave the high-security area. They continued to chant slogans demanding justice for the 23-year-old victim.

The area was cordoned off and police reinforcements, including a contingent of the Rapid Action Force (RAF) were rushed to the Hill that divides the North and South Block, which houses the Prime Minister's Office. Girl protesters alleged that policemen hit them with lathis and declared they will launch a sit-in in the area.

Former Army Chief Gen V K Singh said "You see this problem is because of systemic failure of governance. Police reforms have been lying in cold storage for the last so many years. Why haven't they done anything about it? Why do we have to hear such things from a police commissioner saying that he doesn't have man-power? It is shameful."

"Why do you have to see the spectacle on television where Ministry of Home officials have to go out on the streets checking things? Isn't there a failure? This needs to be addressed. This failure comes because of political and bureaucratic apathy in this country," the former Army chief said.

The spectacle on Raisina Hill saw some curious scenes too. 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 let us 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 officials flocked to the protest site. Overseeing the mass protests from atop North Block, police officials made public announcements exhorting the crowd not to resort to violence.

A couple of hours into the protest and the signs of conflict and the crowd's fury was evident 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.

The 23-year-old gangrape victim, who is currently battling for her life at Safdarjung Hospital, on Saturday recorded her statement before a sub-divisional magistrate about the December 16 incident.

According to media reports, a total of 27 people were injured in the police crackdown on protesters outside Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Meanwhile, Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar called a meeting of top police officers to review the situation on Rajpath as protesters showed no signs of leaving.

Incidentally, even the doctors of Safdarjung Hospital - where the victim is being treated - joined the protest outside Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Meanwhile, Minister of State for Home Affairs RPN Singh issued an appeal for calm saying, "Protesters must calm down, only then can a dialogue can happen from the government's side."