Alleged gangrape victims protesting at Jantar Mantar evicted

, June 4: Four alleged

victims from

, who along with their family members had been protesting at Jantar Mantar here for nearly two months, were today removed from the spot.

The four girls, aged between 13 and 18, hail from the Dhanuk sub-caste in Bhagana village of Haryana's Hisar district. They allege that they were gangraped after being kidnapped on March 23.

The victims and their families had been protesting at Jantar Mantar since April 6, demanding justice. The protesters claimed that police and New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) officials arrived there around 6 AM and ordered them to leave the area by 12 noon.

"They beat us, including the women protesters, and uprooted our tent," claimed a protester. Police, however, claimed that it was NDMC officials who had evicted them. They were given permission to protest there for only a day. As they had long exceeded the permission, they were bound to be evicted, police said.

The protesters later went to the Parliament Street police station along with some students to protest against the eviction.

"The 25 protesters who had reached Parliament Street police station, protesting their eviction, were detained by us but were later allowed to go," said a senior police official. The eviction, meanwhile, attracted sharp criticism from Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which termed it "extremely shocking".

"It is extremely shocking that instead of taking concrete steps to provide justice to these poor and helpless people, the Delhi administration and the city police behaved in such an inhuman manner which defies logic and puts the national capital to shame," AAP said in a statement. The Lieutenant Governor and the Union Home Ministry should take immediate steps to ensure the safety of these four girls and their families, the statement added.

PTI