1. Five students — identified as Akash, Ahan, Akshay, Sameer and Vishnu — were remanded for reportedly spraying pepper spray on police during a demonstration over air pollution.
2. The court also ordered one individual to be placed in an observation home while his age is verified.
3. A First Information Report has been filed under multiple sections including assault, obstruction of a public servant, and disobedience of lawful orders.
A Delhi court on Monday placed five protestors in two-day judicial custody after they were arrested on charges of using pepper spray against police during a demonstration at India Gate over deteriorating air quality. The case was registered at Kartavya Path police station following the protest, which took place the previous evening.
The arrested students — named as Akash, Ahan, Akshay, Sameer and Vishnu — face an FIR under several provisions, including assault, obstructing a public servant and disobedience of lawful orders.
During the hearing, a judicial magistrate also ordered one protester to be sent to an observation home until his age could be confirmed.
At least 22 people were arrested in Delhi on Monday after a protest over worsening air pollution at India Gate escalated into a scuffle with police, officials said.
According to PTI, the demonstrators obstructed police personnel, assaulted them, and blocked traffic on the C-Hexagon, leading to injuries among law enforcement officers. Several of those injured were taken to RML Hospital for treatment, the official added.
Two separate FIRs were registered, one each at Sansad Marg and Kartavya Path police stations, under various sections of the BNS, including outraging the modesty of women, PTI reported.
“The situation then turned into a scuffle, and some protesters used pepper spray on our personnel, which is unusual and rare,” a senior police officer said. He added that the arrested protesters were produced before the court on Monday.
The officer noted that India Gate is not a designated protest site, explaining that Jantar Mantar is the approved area for demonstrations with prior permission. “On Sunday, the protesters blocked the C-Hexagon after jumping police barricades. They sat on the road for over an hour, and even people stuck in the traffic jam were requesting them to clear the way,” he said.