After Protests, Lockdown in Delhi

Tsering Topgyal/Associated PressPolicemen blocking a road in central Delhi on Monday.

The Delhi authorities shut down the heart of the capital for a second day, snarling traffic and disrupting the commute of thousands of workers a day before the Christmas holiday.

Monday's lockdown followed weekend clashes between the police and thousands of demonstrators who took to the streets to urge administrators to make the city safer for women, after the brutal gang rape of a 23-year-old medical student earlier this month shocked the nation. Six of the suspects have been arrested.

The police said they sealed off major arteries of the city, including several metr o stations, to prevent crowds from engaging in violent protests, citing a law called Section 144, which bars people from gathering. Knots of police officers could be seen lurking on street corners on Monday, and parts of the city remained deserted.

“144 has been imposed to prevent violence and the destruction of property,” said Rajan Bhagat, a public relations officer for the Delhi Police. He said the police don't have any immediate plans to lift the ban, which has been in place since Sunday morning.

Mr. Bhagat said that since the weekend the police have been unsuccessfully trying to divert demonstrators to Ramlila Maidan, an enormous field that is often used for protests.

Critics of the government said the lockdown of the city's political center was an attempt by the governing Indian National Congress party to avoid protesters' fury. On Sunday, thousands of Delhi residents joined students and women's groups, but the rally a lso drew members of the political parties that oppose Congress.

India has been struggling to deal with its abysmal safety record for women. One survey says India is one of the most dangerous places to be a woman.

“There is genuine and justified anger and anguish at the ghastly crime of gang rape committed last Sunday in Delhi,” said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in an address to the nation Monday morning. “As a father of three daughters myself, I feel as strongly about this as each one of you.”