Police in Delhi have arrested several people who were allegedly part of the crowd of the largest protest gathering in the Indian capital deteriorating air quality, After being accused of association with a rebel group.
Police officials accused the detainees of raising “pro-Maoist” or “Maoist-style” slogans during the climate protests. They are also suspected of carrying handmade posters of Maoist leader Madhvi Hidma, who was killed in an encounter in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh last week.
Maoist rebels, also known as Naxalites, have been waging an insurgency against the Indian government for four decades, especially in the central states of Chhattisgarh and Telangana. They have long claimed to be defending the rights of indigenous tribes living in central India. They also demand land and employment opportunities for the poor.
The Maoist rebels, who began their insurgency in the late 1960s and control large swathes of what is known as the “Red Corridor” in central India, claim to speak on behalf of tribes exploited by private companies seeking to extract natural resources from their ancestral lands.
The Indian government has pledged to completely dismantle the movement by March 2026. A large-scale security crackdown in recent months has reportedly led to the arrest and surrender of dozens. The Maoist conflict has reportedly claimed more than 10,000 lives so far, although violence has declined in recent years. According to the police, Hidma was responsible for various attacks on security forces in Chhattisgarh.
The allegations against protesters detained by police were made in a First Information Report (FIR), a document used to open a police investigation in India.
Several people were arrested during the protest held in Delhi’s India Gate area and organized by student and climate groups. It was one of several protests sparked by a spike in pollution in Delhi, with several neighborhoods recording AQI levels of more than 700 and “hazardous” particulate matter levels for weeks.
Police said some protesters used pepper spray on officers as they were being escorted from the site, resulting in several individuals being injured. Videos circulating online also showed officers dragging and detaining protesters.
Six people were arrested from the India Gate air pollution protests and remanded for three days in police custody.
People walk near India Gate as the city is covered in smog (EPA)
A police source said: “The investigation so far has revealed that members of these two groups brought the posters, but other group members have not received a clean chit yet.” Indian Express.
The FIR includes Section 197 of India’s new Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Act, which covers “acts endangering the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India,” a charge often used in cases involving alleged extremist activity, police added. any.
Judicial Magistrate Arindam Singh Cheema of the city’s Patiala House Court said police detention was justified in view of the seriousness of the allegations, the need to “unravel the larger conspiracy” and the need for an effective investigation.
Police officials have not publicly released a list of organizations they suspect of being part of the protests, nor have they provided evidence beyond the allegation that some participants used slogans associated with Maoist-inspired groups.
The India Gate protests were one of several small demonstrations held across the city after post-Diwali pollution pushed PM2.5 concentrations beyond safe limits. PM 2.5 refers to particles that are 2.5 microns in diameter or less and can be carried into the lungs, leading to the risk of deadly diseases and heart problems.
In another protest, dozens of people gathered at Jantar Mantar, many wearing oxygen masks and carrying gas cylinders to film the city’s air quality crisis while holding placards demanding the right to breathe safe air.
Air quality in multiple neighborhoods exceeded the “hazardous” threshold — the highest level on India’s index — meaning the air is considered hazardous to healthy people and potentially life-threatening to people with respiratory illnesses.