Guarded by as many as 17,000 security personnel, the Beijing Olympic torch was taken through a 2.3 km stretch in the Indian national capital today (Thursday, April 17th) 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.
The truncated run that lasted for about 40 minutes was smooth and incident free.
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 celebrites including sportsmen, film stars and politicians taking short runs culminating at the India gate.
Sportsmen Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupati, Aslam Sher Khan, Dhanraj Pillay, Zafar Iqbal, Wilson Cherian, Khazan Singh, K Malleswari, K Kunjurani, Bishen Singh Bedi were among others who took part in the event. The Indian film industry was represented by popular actors Aamir Khan and Saif Ali Khan.
Around 60 Tibetans were detained as they attempted to block roads and entered into minor clashes with police in various parts of the city.
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.
