Wrestlers' Protest: Delhi mayor rejects Delhi Police request to turn MCD school to temporary jail

New Delhi: Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi on Sunday said no permission will be granted to convert an MCD school into a temporary jail. The Delhi Police had sought permission to convert the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) school at Kanjhawala into a temporary jail in view of the wrestlers' 'Mahila Maha Panchayat'.

"It has been brought to my notice that a letter has been sent by the Delhi Police to the MCD Deputy Commissioner (North) on 27.05.2023 asking to create a temporary jail in MC Primary Girls School, Kanjhawala Chowk, Old Bhawan on 28.05.2023," Oberoi said in an order issued on Sunday. It is hereby directed that "no permission will be granted", she said in the order.

Oberoi is a councillor of the AAP, which governs the MCD. The development comes on a day Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the new Parliament building. Ahead of the inauguration, the police had issued a traffic advisory that New Delhi district will be treated as a controlled area and entry of vehicles restricted. The Parliament building is located in a high-security area in Lutyens' Delhi. Besides additional deployment of personnel, there is continuous monitoring through CCTV cameras, the police said.

While around 20 parties have announced a boycott of the ceremony, the wrestlers protesting at Jantar Mantar said they will go ahead with their 'Mahila Maha Panchayat' near the new building at any cost. The police, however, have said no protester will be allowed to move towards the new building as permission has not been granted to hold the 'maha panchayat'.