New Delhi: Four Metro stations near the North block will be closed today from 9 AM to 1 PM ahead of a protest by the Aam Aadmi Party to demand action against Delhi Police personnel for alleged dereliction of duty.
"As advised by Delhi Police, Patel Chowk, Central Sect, Udyog Bhawan and Race Course Metro stations will remain closed today from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM in wake of dharna by AAP at North block," a DMRC spokesperson said.
The interchange at Central Secretariat will continue and controlled exit of government employees from Central Sectt will be allowed after checking their IDs, the spokesperson said.
The Aam Aadmi Party, led by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, is scheduled to hold a 'dharna' outside Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde's office demanding action against Delhi Police personnel for alleged dereliction of duty.
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Kejriwal, accompanied by Cabinet colleagues Manish Sisodia, Somnath Bharti and Rakhi Birla, had met Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Friday last and demanded suspension of the "guilty" policemen by 10 AM today, failing which they would protest in front of Home Ministry.
Kejriwal had demanded action against the policemen who allegedly refused to cooperate with Law Minister Somnath Bharti in cracking down on a suspected drug and prostitution racket in South Delhi.
The AAP government had also sought action against a policeman who had a tiff with Women and Child Development Minister Rakhi Birla in Sagarpur of West Delhi over a dowry death case.
The Chief Minister had also blamed police for the way in which it handled the gangrape case of a Danish tourist on Tuesday last.
Later two metro stations -- Patel Chowk and Race course-- were opened for passenger service. "At 2:15 PM, Patel Chowk and Race Course were opened, while Central Secretariat and Udhyog Bhawan are still closed," DMRC spokesperson said.
Commuters had a tough time reaching their destination this morning due to the closure of the Metro stations. The problem was compounded with prohibitory orders imposed in and around the high-security area with heavy police bandobast and barricades in places to restrict movement. Many commuters reached office late as they had to get down at Rajiv Chowk Metro Station and walk all the way to their offices.
"I was caught off guard in the morning as I was not aware about the closure of the Central Secretariat station. I reached office an hour late after walking down from Rajiv Chowk Metro Station to my office. Dharnas and protest during morning rush hours should not be allowed," said Shalini Singh, an MNC employee. Sandhya Sharma, another commuter, said, "Kejriwal should know better, he talks a lot about common man's plight. This is pure harassment."
