23 students held after clashes at India Gate pollution protest

The Delhi Police on Monday arrested 22 students and detained one more for allegedly blocking a road, obstructing police, and “using chilli spray” on security personnel during a protest at India Gate a day earlier.

- Jignasa Sinha and Arnabjit Sur

Most of those held are Delhi University students who had gathered at the C-Hexagon to protest rising air pollution under the banner of the Delhi Coordination Committee for Clean Air. Sunday's demonstration escalated after a clash with police, and several students later protested outside Parliament Street police station, where more detentions followed.

Two FIRs have been registered. The first, names eight students, including the apprehended minor, under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including assault on women, voluntarily causing hurt, criminal conspiracy, obstructing public servants, and disobedience of lawful orders as well as Section 197 of BNS which deals with “imputations and assertions that are prejudicial to national integration”.