Delhi Pollution Protest: 22 Arrested for Dousing Officers with Chilli Powder; Maoist Phrases Spoken at India Gate

Delhi Pollution Protest: 22 demonstrators have been taken into custody by Delhi Police on suspicion of attacking government employees who were on duty on Monday, November 24. The police said that the demonstrators sprayed chili spray on staff members stationed at the India Gate while protesting the hazardous air.

Officials said that once the demonstration turned into a brawl that wounded many cops and prompted an instant legal case for assault on government employees, arrests were made.

“We attempted to inform them that emergency vehicles required clear passage since they were stranded, but they would not budge. A senior police official was reported by PTI as saying, “Then, there was a scuffle, and some protesters used chili powder on our personnel, which is unusual and rare.” The demonstrators had gathered close to the C-Hexagon, the policeman said. It was explained to the protestors that the site was blocking traffic, including ambulance traffic, and that the police had to remove the demonstrators.

This transformed the whole thing into a brawl. According to a police officer, “the situation then turned into a scuffle, and some protesters used chili powder, which is unusual and rare.” Three to four police officers were injured in the face and eyes as a consequence of this altercation. The Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital is treating the wounded officers.

Delhi Pollution Demonstration

The Delhi Coordination Committee for Clean Air organized the demonstration, according to news agency PTI, because of the capital city’s deteriorating air quality.

The organization said that the city’s poor air quality is turning into a “serious risk” to public health and that the authorities have not adequately addressed the issue. The committee also said that the underlying causes of pollution have not been addressed by the government.

Furthermore, the organization said that rather than addressing the problem over the long term, the government is attempting to hide the “severe” air quality by using “cosmetic” methods such as water sprinklers, cloud seeding, and spraying close to Air Quality Index (AQI) stations.

The organization said, “When the state makes the air itself poisonous, it becomes necessary for people to unite and raise their voices for their own survival.”