The protesters assembled near the war memorial from 9 AM when they were asked to vacate the location by the police which said the area was under Section 144 of CrPC which bans the assembly of four or more persons.
As the protesters remained defiant, police forcibly removed them from the spot.
Some of the protesters tried to get out of the police van but were pushed back into the vehicle. Later, the protesters also punctured the tyres of the bus which was carrying them while a group of girls lay down infront of it.
Women protesters alleged that they were manhandled by male police personnel though women police were present at the spot.
"We are here to protest a heinous crime. We have the right to protest," said Pushpa, a Nepali national, who is pursuing studies here.
Earlier in the morning, the police evacuated a number of protesters from area of Raisina Hills, where Rashtrapati Bhavan and key government offices are located, and outside Congress chief Sonia Gandhi's 10, Janpath residence where they had stayed put since last night to protest against the gang-rape of the 23-year-old girl on Sunday last.
The protesters, most of them students, who spent a chilly night in the open after they fought pitched battles with the police throughout the day yesterday at Raisina Hills, were taken into a bus in an early morning operation. Outside Gandhi's residence also, protesters were taken into custody.
A large number of police men were deployed and Raisina Hills and Rajpath were barricaded. Eight Metro stations near India Gate and Raisina Hills were closed as part of police preparations to contain the agitation.
The police clamped prohibitory orders in New Delhi district and asked protesters to stage demonstrations either at Jantar Mantar or Ramlila Maidan. (More)
