AntiCAA agitation takes violent turn in Seelampur; two police booths set on fire, two police bikes damaged
Two
police booths were set on fire and three vehicles, including two police bikes, were
damaged, the police said.
“A total of 21 persons sustained injuries,
including 15 security personnel and six members of the public. The injured
include three Rapid Action Force officials, 12 Delhi police officials and six members
of the public,” Joint Commissioner of Police (Eastern Range) Alok Kumar said.
Two FIRs registered
Mr. Kumar said two FIRs had been registered
in connection with the case one at the
Jaffrabad police station and the other at Seelampur on the charges of rioting,
arson and damage to public property.
The police said the protests were peaceful
for four hours but towards the end, when the people were dispersing, some of
them started throwing stones.
“No
one was lathi charged, but teargas were used as a crowd control measure,” Mr.
Kumar said.
Those
present said the protest was peaceful when it began around 1.30 p.m., and it
was only after the police lathicharged them that they resorted to
stonethrowing. The protesters also broke the windows of two buses.
“We
wanted to go to the Seelampur Metro Station and block the road so that our voice
will be heard,” said Guddu Khan, 24, one of the protesters. “But when we reached
the Seelampur red light, the police stopped us and didn’t allow us to go
forward. Though we tried to negotiate with them, they lathicharged us and the
people retaliated by throwing stones,” he said.
Some videos, thought to be of the incident
and shot by the locals, showed the police beating the protesters with lathis.
Meanwhile, 10 persons were arrested in connection with Sunday’s clashes;
none of them was a student. All have
criminal backgrounds, and were identified from CCTV footage.
Multiple protesters said the Citizenship Amendment
Act and the National Register of Citizens are against Muslims. They said they
will continue to raise their voice against them.
According to the locals, some of the
protesters who withdrew from the main road, due to the lathi charge, ransacked
the police post and burnt motorcycles outside it. The protest went on till
about 5 p.m. Police said a total of five companies including one from the Rapid
Action Force (RAF), along with personnel from three districts, have been deployed
in the trouble spots.
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