Indian social media has been flooded with calls urging the public to participate in a protest scheduled for 5 p.m. (IST) on Friday at New Delhi's iconic India Gate monument despite Delhi police banning gatherings of five or more people.
The protest has been called to demand justice for a 19-year-old victim allegedly gang-raped by four men in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
"No gathering is permissible around India Gate due to [the] imposition of Section 144 [of the] CrPC", New Delhi's Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) tweeted from his official account on Thursday evening.
Under Section 144 of India's Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), a gathering of five or more people is illegal.
No gathering is permissible around India Gate due to imposition of Section 144 CrPC.@CPDelhi @LtGovDelhi @PMOIndia @HMOIndia @DelhiPolice #unlock4guidelines
— DCP New Delhi (@DCPNewDelhi) October 1, 2020
Despite the warning by the city's police, Delhi's governing Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) asked the public to converge at the monument, in a tweet put out on Friday morning. Police in the capital are controlled by the federal Home Ministry, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Let's stand in solidarity against the barbaric Hathras incident.
— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) October 2, 2020
Today at 5 PM
Location- India Gate#भारत_की_बेटी_को_न्याय_दो#ShameOnYogi #DalitLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/Sbcp1VRZES
The tweet by the Delhi police official on Thursday evening was preceded by mobilisation calls by members of the public.
#भारत_की_बेटी_को_न्याय_दो
— Swara Bhasker (@ReallySwara) September 30, 2020
Join us, in solidarity
2nd October 2020
Time : 5pm
Location : India Gate, New Delhi #JusticeForHathrasHorror#DalitLivesMatter
A call by Concerned Citizens of India
PLEASE RT & SHARE MAX pic.twitter.com/c4mxkVwtAy
आइए हम भारत के लोग एक स्वर में जुड़ें इस आवाज के साथ
— Yogendra Yadav (@_YogendraYadav) October 1, 2020
कल 2 अक्टूबर को शाम 5 बजे इंडिया गेट पर, बिना किसी झंडे के https://t.co/jEIWB4On83
High Court Intervenes
Meanwhile, the highest court in Uttar Pradesh has taken suo moto cognizance of the Hathras gang-rape incident as it summoned officials from the state government, the Hindustan Times reported on Thursday.
The Lucknow bench of the state's Allahabad High Court reportedly said in a 11-page order that the events that took place after the death of the "Dalit" victim had "shocked our conscience".
The teenage girl, who was allegedly sexually assaulted by four men on 14 September, was cremated in the wee hours of Wednesday morning against the wishes of her family members. A video of the cremation was later tweeted by a reporter from the news channel India Today.
In another viral video making the rounds on Indian social media, the district magistrate of Hathras can be seen allegedly threatening the family members of the victim to keep their mouths shut so as to not to escalate the controversy.