High drama ensued well past after midnight at the VIP gate of Ramlila maidan where Anna Hazare is sitting on a protest fast, as a group of people clashed with policemen and dismantled barricades.
According to eyewitnesses, a group of people got into a tiff with some policemen deployed at the rear gate of the maidan around 3 am. The youth heckled the policemen and hit them with sticks when they tried to stop their group from opening the iron gate, being used as VIP gate.
"A group of people got involved with policemen and then tried to open the gate of the maidan," a police officer deployed at the agitation site said requesting anonymity.
The officer's shoulder lapels were torn in the melee. The group brought down the barricades and shouted slogans as policemen tried to persuade them to go away. A senior Delhi police official soon arrived at the spot and a platoon of the Central Reserve Police Force personnel was called in to control the group of about 7-8 men.
Four Police Control Room vans reached on the spot after 20 minutes. The group threw the chairs used by policemen at the gate in air.
The officer, however, refused to comment on the incident as he ordered his staff to place the fallen barricades in place. Following the incident, the police has cordoned off the road towards the VIP gate.
