The Hindu : National : Tibetans held for bid to disrupt torch relay

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Friday, Apr 18, 2008
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Tibetans held for bid to disrupt torch relay

Devesh K. Pandey

NEW DELHI: Even as the Olympic torch relay run passed off without any untoward incident on Thursday, over 250 Tibetan protesters were arrested under preventive sections of the law in different parts of the Capital.

Minutes before the chartered aircraft carrying the historic torch landed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here, the Tibetan activists reached Dhaula Kuan in vehicles and tried to block traffic near the Army’s Research and Referral Hospital around 1 a.m.

However, they were swiftly removed and 27 of them arrested on charges of breach of peace, police said.

In the early hours of Thursday, a group of Tibetan protesters tried to break the security cordon around Le Meridien Hotel where the Olympic torch was kept. Four of them were arrested.

Later in the day, the protesters tried to breach the security around the relay venue on Rajpath at half-a-dozen places.

About 12 persons were arrested on Kasturba Gandhi Marg, whereas 10 were picked up from Janpath around 5 p.m.

While the relay was on, several protesters tried to reach Rajpath via Shahjahan Road, but were rounded up.

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