Cops kill spirit to keep torch burning

17 Apr 2008, PTI

NEW DELHI: The Olympic torch run has ended peacefully, with tennis players Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi carrying it to the India Gate in the Capital. The truncated run that lasted for about 40 minutes was smooth and incident free. The torch will leave for Bangkok later on Thursday.

The ace tennis duo, who took over the torch from former Olympian Randhir Singh, together lit the Olympic cauldron at the India Gate bringing an end to the traditional ceremony which kept security personnel on tenterhooks.

Guarded by as many as 17,000 security personnel, the Beijing Olympic torch was taken through a 2.3 km stretch in the national Capital on Thursday with Tibetans protesting in various places in the country.

For over five hours, the majestic Rajpath was turned into a security fortress with the Prime Minister's office and Ministries of Defence, External Affairs and Finance lining the torch route from Rashtrapati Bhavan shut down.

With a three-layered security ring akin to Republic Day arrangements in place, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit handed over the Olympic flame to Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president Suresh Kalmadi after it was lit by vice-chairman of Beijing Olympics Organising Committee Jiang Yu with the imposing Rashtrapati Bhavan forming the backdrop.

'Flying Sikh' Milkha Singh, one of India's greatest athletes, had the honour to lead the relay before the torch changed hands with nearly 70 celebrities including sportsmen, film stars and politicians taking short runs culminating at the India gate.

Sportspersons Aslam Sher Khan, Dhanraj Pillay, Zafar Iqbal, Wilson Cherian, Khazan Singh, K Kunjurani, Bishen Singh Bedi were among others who took part in the event. The tinsel industry was represented by Aamir Khan and Saif Ali Khan.

Sprint Queen P T Usha, former Olympic bronze medalist weightlifter Karnam Malleshwari and world shooting champion Manavjit Singh Sandhu also took part in the relay.

Para Olympian Rajinder Singh Rahelu, who was on a wheelchair, was also among those who carried the torch which was kept at a five star hotel overnight after it was brought from Islamabad amid tight security.

Barricades were put all along the Rajpath to thwart any attempts by Tibetans to sneak in. Barbed wire fences were put up outside the heavily guarded Chinese Embassy, which was targeted by Tibetan protestors in recent weeks.

Delhi police commandos dressed in red and blue tracksuits were joined by Chinese security guards in providing close security cover and flanked the runners who passed on the flame after running a few metres.

Around 60 Tibetans were detained as they attempted to block roads and entered into minor clashes with police in various parts of the city. 30 Tibetan protestors also tried to barge into the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Mild force, including baton charging, was used to disperse them.

The public was kept out and all the access roads to the historic stretch was cut off for several hours to ensure a smooth passage of the torch relay which was earlier plagued by disruptions in London, San Francisco and Paris.

The India leg of the torch relay was considered one of the most sensitive in its global voyage as the country is home to about one lakh exiled Tibetans, who organised a wave of protests against Chinese crackdown in Lhasa.

With the area in and around Rajpath out of bounds, hundreds of Tibetans took out a parallel torch relay run from Rajghat, the samadhi of Mahatma Gandhi, to Jantar Mantar, which has been the epicentre of Tibetan protests over the past several days.

The torch was lit at Rajghat after an inter-religion prayer meeting and the large number of Tibetans, who had assembled there, took a pledge to ensure that the torch, which "signified the freedom of Tibet and humanity", keeps on burning.

The protesters carried Tibetan flags, placards and banners with messages such as "Azad Tibet, Surakshit Bharat" and "Free Tibet".

The torch for the parallel relay by Tibetans was lit at Rajghat after an inter-religion prayer meeting. The protesters, who took part in the rally, carried Tibetan flags, placards and banners with messages such as "Azad Tibet, Surakshit Bharat" and "Free Tibet".

Among the participants in the rally were a large number of monks attired in traditional red robes, women and children. They were supported by prominent personalities like George Fernandes, Ramdas Athavale, Jaya Jaitley, Kirti Azad, Swami Agnivesh ,Sudheendra Kulkarni and Nafisa Ali.

There were protests in other parts of the country as well. In Mumbai, 45 Tibetans including nine women were detained after they attempted to hold a protest rally near the Chinese Consulate located in the business district of Nariman Point, police said.

In Bangalore, which is home to a large number of Tibetans, there were protests with several of them taking out a procession from Banappa park to central MG road.