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SCORES of Tibetan demonstrators were arrested as thousands of police and soldiers defended the Beijing Olympic torch on a suffocating run through the Indian capital.

The heart of New Delhi was almost totally sealed off for the most sensitive leg of the protest-hit global relay to date, with security personnel far outnumbering the schoolboys and other select onlookers allowed to watch.

The iron-clad security made the route virtually inaccessible to the public. 

India is home to 100,000 Tibetan refugees, including the Dalai Lama and radical youth groups, and authorities wanted to ensure that chaotic protests like those seen in Paris and London did not mar the event.

The scaled-back 2.3km relay lasted little more than 30 minutes without any disruption.

Relay participants were tightly marshalled by track-suited Chinese security guards, and allowed to run a few metres each.

An estimated 16,000 police, soldiers and even elite commandos were deployed to throw up a huge security cordon around the avenue between the presidential palace and India Gate, two of New Delhi`s main landmarks.

"We have around 170 to 180 people in custody,`` a senior police official said after a day marked by a string of protests and shrouded in a fortress-like atmosphere of tracker dogs, bomb disposal units and metal detectors.
 
The Tibetan Youth Congress, a radical activist group that spearheaded attempts to disrupt the event, gave a similar figure on the number of demonstrators taken in by police throughout the day.

They said among those arrested were a group of about 70 protesters who tried to make a run for the area where the torch relay began.

Another activist, Tibetan poet Tenzin Tsundue, said several of those detained had suffered injuries.

Another 46 Tibetans were arrested in India`s financial capital, Mumbai, as they tried to storm the Chinese consulate, police in the city said.

The round-the-world relay has been dogged by protests over China`s military crackdown in Tibet and its human rights record - overshadowing China`s prestige in hosting the world`s biggest sporting event.

In India, authorities said they were even worried that Tibetan activists might set themselves on fire in front of TV cameras.

Police said they had been equipped with blankets and water, but no self-immolations were reported.

Several thousand Tibetan protesters did, however, stage a rival torch relay, setting off from the mausoleum of Mahatma Gandhi, the champion of India`s non-violent independence movement.

Seventy Indian sports figures, entertainers and others took part in the torch run, including Bollywood actors Aamir Khan and Saif Ali Khan, tennis player Leander Paes and officials from China`s embassy in New Delhi.

"I am not a great supporter of China`s politics. I am sympathetic to what is happening in Tibet," Saif Ali Khan said.

"But at the same time I am here as a supporter of the Olympics."

India has been home to the Dalai Lama since he fled Tibet after a failed 1959 uprising against Chinese rule in his homeland.

Jiang Xiaoyu, the vice president of the Beijing Olympic organising committee, thanked India for it organisational skills.

"We have been deeply impressed by the beauty of Delhi and the arrangements and the Indian people`s passion for the Olympic flame," he said as the relay ended.

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Torch relay

• Trouble path: the torch relay

Today`s Top Picks

`Thugs` to run with torch

THE Chinese flame attendants labelled "thugs" in London will run with the Olympic torch in Australia.
In depth: The Olympic torch relay

• Discrimination: Schools slap ban on `dad` and `hubby`
• $300,000 payout: Coles sued for shopping trolley injury
• Style: How to take good photos without being a poser

Search for more stories on this topic on Newstext, our news archive service. Click here

Also in World

• New Delhi: Tense relay in empty streets as 180 arrested
• Washington: Bush call for gas cuts a lot of hot air
• Moscow: Drunk man fails to notice knife in his back
• New Zealand: Weather service bungled forecast
• London: Gay aide in `royal sex act` a`braggart`
• London: Cigarettes, alcohol speed up Alzheimer`s
• Zimbabwe: Opposition supporters `murdered`
• Iraq: Suicide bomber kills at least 45 mourners

Video

Watch this Video NOW!

Breathtaking BMX Air Dance

Watch some amazing stunts as competitors take to the skies in the BMX Dirt Air Dance competition.

Latest videos

• Duran Duran
• Crazy sneaker collectors
• Flugtag Fun
• Yobbo literature

More Video

Blogroll

Movie Mash

Every fan has their favourite - so who is your best Bond?

• Jack Marx Live: Beware the Logies curse
• Splat!: When co-workers get drunk on power
• Squanderlust: Break the urge to splurge
• Blogocracy: How should we govern our nation?
• Technology: Selling Telstra didn`t fix anything
• Fully Chic: Jank home for fashion week
• Ask Bossy: Internet dating driving me mad
• Justin Herald: Favourite four letter word

Advertisement

Love & Relationships - Find a date near you on Match.com - # 1 Online Dating site Worldwide.

 

What`s On in Wellington. Visit WellingtonNZ.com

 

The Gold Choices Card5 star rewards program - Apply now.

 

HSBC Premier Enjoy preferential treatment - 0.75%* off the variable home loan rate.

 

Kick`n`off the 08 season!The Game is on! Visit the Toyota website and find a great offer.

 

Virgin Mobile Cheap calls & text across Australia.

 

Get a higher return Earn a high 7.88% p.a.^ on a 3 month Term Deposit with HSBCPremier.

 

Want to be instantly better off? Find the best Health Insurance online now.

 

Tools

• Receive our news feed
  What is RSS?
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