Sikh groups protest near parliament, detained

Around 200 Sikh protesters were Monday detained near Parliament House after they blocked the high-security Vijay Chowk for over half-an-hour. They were protesting the acquittal of Congress leader Sajjan Kumar in a case related to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

"The protest continued for about an hour from 10.50 a.m. We arrested about 200 of the protesters from Vijay Chowk and let them off later. We had no prior information about the protest," Deputy Commissioner of Police S.B.S. Tyagi told IANS.

Raising slogans against the government, the protesters marched to Vijay Chowk, a crucial crossroad between the Parliament House complex and the North and South blocks that house the prime minister's office and the home, defence, finance and foreign ministries.

The road also leads to Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Several MPs had to walk a short distance to the Parliament House building due to the protest.

Police were taken by surprise as the protesters came in small groups.

"We were informed about a protest march from Gurudwara Rakab Ganj to Jantar Mantar in central Delhi. We never expected a protest near parliament," Tyagi added.

Sikh groups have been protesting at Jantar Mantar since Friday, demanding justice for the riot victims and stringent punishment for Sajjan Kumar.

Sajjan Kumar was acquitted by a city court April 30 in a case related to the killing of five people in the Delhi Cantonment area during violence against Sikhs following the assassination of then prime minister Indira Gandhi Oct 31, 1984.

The court convicted five others in the case.