22 arrested for assault, using 'pepper spray' on Delhi Police during air pollution protest
New Delhi, Nov 24 (PTI): The Delhi Police has arrested at least 22 people on charges of obstructing its personnel and assaulting them, besides blocking the road during a protest at the India Gate over rising air pollution levels in the national capital, an official said on Monday.
The police have registered two different FIRs, one at the Sansad Marg Police Station, another at the Kartavya Path Police Station, under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including outraging the modesty of women.
On Sunday, the situation at the protest escalated as some demonstrators allegedly used pepper spray on police personnel while being removed from the scene and were taken to Parliament Street Police Station, where they were involved in another scuffle with the escorting officers, the official added.
"The situation then turned into a scuffle, and some protesters used pepper spray on our personnel, which is unusual and rare," the officer said, adding that so far, police have arrested at least 22 protesters.
"India Gate is not a designated protest site. The protesters were asked to leave. Jantar Mantar is the designated protest site, and anyone can demonstrate there after obtaining permission. On Sunday, the protesters blocked the C-Hexagon after jumping police barricades. They sat on the road for over an hour, and even people stuck in the traffic jam were requesting them to clear the way," the police officer said.
He added that when police teams asked the protesters to leave, they misbehaved, assaulted police personnel, and some even used pepper spray.
"Many police personnel sustained injuries during the scuffle and were rushed to RML Hospital for treatment. We are investigating the entire matter and checking CCTV footage to identify everyone involved," the officer said.
When asked about slogans allegedly raised in support of Maoist leader Madvi Hidma, the officer said they are probing the matter from all angles.
The police have registered two different FIRs against the protestors. The first FIR has been registered under sections 74 (assault or criminal force to a woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 79 (word, gesture, or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman), 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 132 (part of the section on contempt of the lawful authority of public servants), 221 (contempt of the lawful authority of public servants) and 223 (disobedience to a lawful order from a public servant) of the BNS at Kartavya Path Police Station. Under this, six people have been arrested.
The second FIR has been registered under sections 223A (disobedience to order duly promulgated by a public servant, with punishment depending on the severity of the consequences), 132 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant), 221 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 121A (conspiracy to commit offences against the State), 126(2) and (punishment for wrongful restraint) of the BNS at Parliament Street Police station.
The Delhi Coordination Committee for Clean Air, in a statement, said the city's worsening air quality has become a "serious risk" to public health and alleged that authorities have failed to address the root causes of pollution.
It further alleged that air quality has remained in the "severe" category, while the government relies on "cosmetic measures" such as water sprinklers, cloud seeding and spraying near Air Quality Index (AQI) stations instead of finding long-term solutions to tackle the issue.
Meanwhile, a Delhi court on Monday sent to three days' judicial custody to 17 people arrested on charges of obstructing police personnel and assaulting them, besides blocking the road during a protest at the India Gate over rising air pollution levels in the national capital.
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FM Sitharaman launches 'VijAIpatha' labs in govt schools in Karnataka
Hampi (PTI): Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday launched Cyient AI Labs (CyAILS) -- 'VijAIpatha', aimed at democratising access to Artificial Intelligence, STEM and Robotics education in government schools here.
In a series of posts on 'X', the minister's office shared pictures of the initiative launched at a girl's government school in Hosapete taluk and said that under the pilot phase, five world-class AI, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) and Robotics laboratories are being established in government schools.
Each lab will be equipped with high-performance computers, AI-ready software, robotics kits, IoT devices, sensors and secure broadband connectivity.
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"Aligned with NEP 2020, Digital India and Hon'ble Prime Minister @narendramodi's mission of Viksit Bharat 2047, the programme integrates CBSE's AI curriculum and strengthens technology-enabled learning in public education," it said.
Focusing on rural and semi-urban India, the initiative introduces future technologies at the school level, helping build early digital fluency, computational thinking and innovation capacity among students, the minister's office said.
"Benefiting over 2,000 students and training more than 200 teachers, 'VijAIpatha' is a scalable CSR model fostering innovation, career readiness and grassroots digital empowerment," it added.
According to the office, the initiative has been designed as a scalable, replicable and sustainable model that can be adopted across districts and states in collaboration with government education departments, positioning it as a benchmark CSR model for a national AI education rollout.
