Pro-Police Protest In Delhi Amid Outrage Over Slogans Praising Madvi Hidma

Scores of people assembled at the India Gate in a show of support for the Delhi Police on Tuesday, two days after videos surfaced allegedly showing protesters raising slogans praising Maoist commander Madvi Hidma during an air-pollution demonstration here.

Protesters held placards reading: "We support Delhi Police", "Stop shielding anti-nationals", "Nation against Hidma", "Nation against Naxalism", accusing "anti-national elements" of infiltrating civic protests to promote extremist ideology.

Several participants shouted slogans asserting solidarity with the police force and demanding strict action against those who allegedly hailed the Maoist leader.

A protest for clean air was held at the India Gate on Sunday, videos of which have surfaced online, allegedly showing protesters raising slogans praising Maoist commander Madvi Hidma.

Scientists for Society (SFS), one of the organisations that participated in the "Delhi Against Clean Air" protest, claimed two organisations -- Himkhand and BSCEM -- began shouting slogans related to the alleged extra-judicial killing of Hidma.

Delhi Law Minister Kapil Mishra on Monday claimed that a protest against poor air quality was used as a platform to glorify Hidma.

Mishra had posted a video on X alleging that "Jihadis and Naxalites have a new mask - becoming social activists," triggering sharp online reactions.

The Delhi Police, meanwhile, said it has arrested at least 22 people for allegedly assaulting personnel, obstructing them, blocking roads and using pepper spray during Sunday's protest where the purported pro-Hidma slogans were raised.

Hidma (51), a senior CPI (Maoist) commander and one of the country's most wanted insurgents, was killed along with five others in an encounter in Andhra Pradesh's Alluri Sitaramaraju district on November 18.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)