Delhi gang-rape: Cop injured in India Gate protests critical

A constable of the Delhi Police, Subhash
Tomar, is in critical condition at a Delhi
hospital after being injured in the
protests today at India Gate. Several
other protesters and two cops have also
been injured.
Like yesterday, the demonstrations were
massive and hostile and saw the police
clashing repeatedly with students and
others protesting against the brutal gang-
rape of a medical student on a moving
bus exactly a week ago.
Through today, policemen were seen
dragging girls by their hair, a car was over-
turned and set aflame and barricades
were thrown aside before being set on
fire.
At night, the chief minister of Delhi,
Sheila Dikshit, met with junior Home
Minister RPN Singh and Parliamentary
Affairs Minister Kamal Nath to assess
today's violence and develop a plan to
restore the calm in the capital after 48
hours of fury pulsing through the streets.
She said she will request the Chief Justice
of Delhi High Court to ensure that fast-
track courts start functioning immediately
to handle rape cases. "VIP security is not
an excuse to not protect the common
man," she said, addressing the frequent
complaint that Delhi's police force is so
preoccupied with protecting politicians
that the city is left to fend for itself.
A movement led largely by students has
devolved into riots because of
unrestrained excessive measures by the
police, an infiltration by miscreants and an
unresponsive government that has failed
to interact with protesters except through
press conferences.
Some women complained of being
molested during the protests, a harsh
reinforcement of the fact that a protest
for women's safety had been grossly
hijacked.
"We tried stopping them. They were
using abusive language. When we asked
them to back off, they refused. We also
requested them not to throw water
bottles at the police. There are many of
them who are drunk and are eve-teasing.
They have come here just to have some
fun," said young a woman at the protest
site.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi and her
son Rahul this morning invited a group of
protesters into her home and told them
that they would ensure action is taken In
the case of the six men who have been
arrested for last week's gang-rape. The
protesters said later they were
disappointed that the leaders did not
commit to any deadlines