Taking security personnel by surprise, 27 Tibetans on Tuesday took out their own "torch relay" on the route of the Olympic flame run in Delhi to demonstrate against Chinese "atrocities" in their homeland.
Twenty-seven Tibetans, including nine women, managed to run almost the entire stretch of the Rajpath, the designated route for the April 17 Olympic torch relay, and entered into a minor clash with the police as they attempted to douse the flame.
The protesters suddenly emerged on the Rajpath, about a kilometre from Rashtrapati Bhavan from where the relay is scheduled to start, at around 3 pm and started running towards India Gate, where the original run is to culminate.
However, as the protest relay almost reached India Gate, police intervened and doused the torch.
The security was immediately intensified by deploying more personnel in the area.
In the melee, the station house officer of Tilak Marg and a woman protester suffered minor burn injuries.
All the 27 Tibetans were arrested, a senior police official said.
