Old and young, men and women started gathering at the high secuirty India Gate area at around 5:00 PM and their number grew within an hour. The protesters held candles and shouted slogans demanding stringent punishment for the perpetrators.
Visibly incensed, a group of over 200 people broke away from the demonstration at the war memorial and started marching towards Rashtrapati Bhavan, taking police by surprise.
They managed to reach near South Block where they demanded that they should be allowed to meet Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde or Home Secretary R K Singh.
Police immediately swung into action barricading Raisina Hills. A large number of policemen were also rushed to the spot.
"I am a 23-year-old who travels by public transport. This girl could have been me. My only question is what action is the government is trying to take? Is it one of those that take years. I don't think there is any other way to speak to our ministers apart from coming here to the South Block," a girl protester said.