22 arrested for assault, using 'pepper spray' on Delhi Police during air pollution protest

The Delhi Police has arrested at least 22 people on charges of obstructing its personnel and assaulting them, besides blocking the road during a protest at the India Gate over rising air pollution levels in the national capital, an official said on Monday.

The police have registered two different FIRs, one at the Sansad Marg Police Station, another at the Kartavya Path Police Station, under various sections of the BNS, including outraging the modesty of women.

On Sunday, the situation at the protest escalated as some demonstrators allegedly used pepper spray on police personnel while being removed from the scene, the official added.

"The situation then turned into a scuffle, and some protesters used pepper spray on our personnel, which is unusual and rare," the officer said, adding that so far, police have arrested at least 22 protesters. A police source said that the protestors were produced before the court on Monday.

"India Gate is not a designated protest site. The protesters were asked to leave. Jantar Mantar is the designated protest site, and anyone can demonstrate there after obtaining 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," the police officer said.

He added that when police teams asked the protesters to leave, they misbehaved, assaulted police personnel, and some even used pepper spray.

"Many police personnel sustained injuries during the scuffle and were rushed to RML Hospital for treatment. We are investigating the entire matter and checking CCTV footage to identify everyone involved," the officer said.

When asked about slogans allegedly raised in support of Maoist leader Madvi Hidma, the officer said they are probing the matter from all angles.

The Delhi Coordination Committee for Clean Air, in a statement, said the city's worsening air quality has become a "serious risk" to public health and alleged that authorities have failed to address the root causes of pollution.

It further alleged that air quality has remained in the "severe" category, while the government relies on "cosmetic measures" such as water sprinklers, cloud seeding and spraying near Air Quality Index (AQI) stations instead of finding long-term solutions to tackle the issue.