Delhi: Protest against toxic air turns tense as agitators ‘chilli spray’ police

A demonstration over Delhi-NCR’s choking air quality took an unexpected and dramatic turn on Sunday, when a group of protesters at India Gate allegedly unleashed pepper spray on police personnel attempting to disperse them, officials said.

What began as a gathering demanding urgent action on the capital’s “very poor” air soon spiralled into chaos. As officers moved in to clear the area, three to four personnel were struck by the burning sting of pepper spray, leaving them in need of treatment at Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital.

According to a senior officer, the demonstrators had drifted into the C-hexagon and tried to push past barricades erected to keep traffic — including ambulances and emergency responders — moving. “We explained that emergency vehicles were trapped behind them, that lives depended on those pathways being cleared, but they grew increasingly agitated,” he said.

Sensing tension in the air thick enough to spark confrontation, police urged the group to step back. Instead, the protesters broke past the barricades, spilled onto the road, and staged a sit-in. As officers attempted to remove them, the crowd’s resistance escalated, culminating in the sudden use of chilli spray against the police.

The demonstrators were eventually shifted out of the C-hexagon to prevent further traffic paralysis.

“This was unprecedented,” said Devesh Kumar Mahla, deputy commissioner of police (New Delhi). “For the first time, protesters used chilli spray on officers managing traffic and law and order.”

Mahla added that several officers were sprayed directly in the eyes and face, requiring immediate medical care. Legal action, he said, is now underway.

With PTI inputs