Car set on fire in Daryaganj, stone-pelting incidents reported; 40 held
After a peaceful day of protest against the Citizen Amendment Act (CAA) at several places in the national Capital, the protesters turned violent on Friday night at the Delhi Gate near Jama Masjid.
They set a private car ablaze forcing police to use water cannons to disperse a large group of protesters who were trying to march from the old Delhi to Jantar Mantar. The protesters were stopped at Delhi Gate by police. Earlier in the day, the national Capital remained heavily barricaded with prohibitory orders in several places and closure of several metro stations.
However, this could not stop thousands from rallying near Jama Masjid area, soon after Friday prayers. As the day drew to a close, the protesters gathered at India Gate and Central Park, while carrying Tricolour and “Save Constitution” banners and also raising slogans against what they called attempts to
divide the country on religious lines.
Historic Jama Masjid became the centre point of protest on Friday with police detaining Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar during a march. But, he escaped from the clutches of police and joined the protest again near Daryaganj.
Chandrashekhar, holding a copy of the Constitution, was leading the protesters in a march from Jama Masjid area to Jantar Mantar but they were stopped at the Delhi Gate locality where large numbers of barricades were erected.
Violence broke out in the Delhi Gate area on Friday evening when a group of agitating demonstrators resorted to stone-pelting after police tried to forcefully evict them. In the melee, one car was set on fire and several others were damaged.
The road leading to Jama Masjid was littered with footwear and stones as police chased away the protesters from the area. Hours before the violence broke out, an announcement was made from a nearby mosque in Delhi Gate urging people to maintain peace and go back home as they have already expressed their anguish over the new law.
A group of youths held a shirtless protest in Daryaganj shouting slogans demanding scrapping of the new law. Scores of protesters also raised slogans against the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC).
“Police made several appeals to demonstrators to maintain law and order but the crowd on Friday evening, when not allowed to march towards Jantar Mantar from Delhi Gate, turned violent and they set a private car standing in front of Dariyaganj police station on fire resorting police to use water cannons to disperse them,” said a senior police official.
“We used mild force and water cannon and police didn’t lathicharge or lob tear-gas shells at protesters. Twelve police personnel have been injured. There are outsiders involved in the violence and police have detained 40 people,” said Mandeep Singh Randhawa, the DCP, Central district.
Protests against the CAA were also witnessed in several other areas in the national Capital, including in Jamia Millia Islamia, Seemapuri, Jantar Mantar, India Gate and northeast Delhi’s Seelampur, the site of large scale violence by protesters on Tuesday.
At Seemapuri, the protestors pelted stones at police personnel and the Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Rohit Rajbir Singh, sustained minor injuries. Police said the incident occurred when police was dispersing crowd and the situation in Shahdara’s Seemapuri was brought to control within a short span of time. Protests were also witnessed in several other areas in the national Capital, including in northeast Delhi’s Seelampur, the site of large scale violence by protestors on Tuesday. “Some of the people came from Loni area at Seelampur to disrupt the peaceful protest but they were stopped by police and were sent back towards Loni,” said a police official at Seelampur.
The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) on Friday also closed about 20 metro stations, including Jama Masjid and the busiest Kashemre Gate and Rajiv Chowk station to prevent the protesters from joining the ongoing protest against the CAA and also following the security instructions.
Police deployed drones to keep a vigil on the gathering. Earlier on Friday, security forces carried out a flag march in Seelampur and several areas across the city. “Prohibitory orders were imposed in 12 police station areas of Northeast Delhi,” a senior police official said. Delhi Mahila Congress chief and former president Pranab Mukherjee’s daughter Sharmistha and some other members of the outfit were detained near Home Minister Amit Shah’s residence during a protest against the new legislation. A protest in support of CAA was held in the central park of Connaught Place where people raised slogans in support of the Modi Government and Delhi Police.