Protests against Delhi ganrape continue at Jantar Mantar

A fortnight after her savage gangrape singed the collective conscience of the nation and plunged it into unprecedented anguish and anger, the battered body of the 23-year-old gangrape victim was cremated quietly in New Delhi on Sunday morning. Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and Minister of State for Home R.P.N. Singh were present at the crematorium in southwest Delhi. PM Manmohan Singh and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi were at the airport when the body arrived and consoled the family of the woman.

Her battle to live and fight her perpetrators moved the nation and galvanised tens of thousands of youths all over the country to continue to demand from the government greater assurance of security and deterrent punishment to those who commit gender crimes.

Amid a nationwide outpouring of grief and anger, hundreds of protesters, mostly students, gathered at the Jantar Mantar, demanding tougher anti-rape laws.

"We want to carry out a peaceful protest, we want to carry forward the movement. But why do police restrain us from protesting at India Gate. But we will continue to protest even if they barricade major stretches of roads and shut all metro stations... The police can't stop us from raising our voices," Praveen Pandey, a law student said.

The protesters, including some elderly people, men and women, mourned the death of the young woman in a silent protest.

Protests against the brutal gangrape of a 23-year-old girl in Delhi took an ugly turn on Sunday, December 30, 2012, as protesters tried to break the barricades set up by the police.

Some protesters also allegedly pelted stones at the police.

According to some peaceful protesters, a few students representing the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's student wing Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) clashed with the police demanding speedy punishment for the rapists of the woman who died Saturday after battling for life.

"The protest was going on silently, but around 1.30 pm it turned ugly and violent when a group carrying flags and banners of ABVP tried to take out a march from Jantar Mantar to India Gate but police prevented them from moving ahead," Deepali Sharma, a student who came to protest with friends, said.

The protesters managed to break some of the barricades but the police immediately contained them.

Five persons were detained after a group of protesters, allegedly owing allegiance to Bharatiya Janata Party's student wing Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, on Sunday clashed with the police at Jantar Mantar.

While one group went ahead with the peaceful demonstration, another group tried to break the iron barricades and police called in more reinforcement.

Police, meanwhile, started an exercise to identify the miscreants and is taking them away from the spot.

A few elderly mourners, who joined the protest that started within hours of the victim's cremation in southwest Delhi's Dwarka area in the morning, condemned the violence.

"We are here for a purpose... we hope the cause is not hijacked or politicised," said Pawan Gupta, an advocate, seeking stricter anti-rape laws.

Kolkata was united in rage and grief at the tragic death of the 23-year-old Delhi gangrape victim, as citizens took out protest walks, candlelight vigils and silent marches.

Cutting across gender and social barriers, the march witnessed the participation of volunteers and activists from several human rights groups and university students, who raised their voices against atrocities against women.

Renting the air with slogans of "Inquilaab Zindabaad" and "We want justice in the Park Street rape case", the protesters - ranging in age from twenties to fifties - also aimed to bring to the fore the state government's inaction in the sensational Park Street rape case.

People hold candles and placards to mourn the death of Delhi gangrape victim in Agartala on Sunday, December 30, 2012.

People hold candle light vigil and silent march after the tragic death of the 23-year-old Delhi gangrape victim in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, on Sunday, December 30, 2012.

A woman lights a candle to pay tribute to the 23-year-old Delhi gangrape victim in Agartala on Sunday, December 30, 2012.

People hold candle light vigil to mourn the death of Delhi gangrape victim in Guwahati on Sunday, December 30, 2012.

Various other organisations and political parties brought out silent marches and kept candle light vigils across Kolkata.

The flames of the pyre may have died, but public anger continued with hundreds of protesters gathering at Jantar Mantar, in New Delhi.

While many raised slogans for tougher laws to deal with rapists, some organised a havan - a prayer by fire ceremony - for the departed soul.

Police imposed restrictive orders around India Gate and Raisina Hill - Delhi's power centre - and blockaded all roads leading to the areas, as well as shut down ten Metro stations in central Delhi.

India Gate and its adjacent areas in New Delhi were out of bounds for public.

People hold candle light vigil after the tragic death of the 23-year-old Delhi gangrape victim in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, on Sunday, December 30, 2012.

The peaceful protest turned a little restive in the afternoon when a group of students clashed with the policemen.