India’s capital has seen a third day of violence as the death toll from Monday’s clashes went up to at least seven, including a policeman, police told Al Jazeera.
Anil Mittal, a senior police officer, said approximately people were injured in the violence that came as US President Donald Trump arrived on a two-day India trip.
More:
In Pictures: Anti-CAA sit-ins attacked in Indian capital
India: Footage appears to show police attack on Jamia students
“Some of the people brought in had gunshot wounds,” Dr Rajesh Kalra, additional medical superintendent at the Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, said of Monday’s violence.
Fresh violence has been reported from Muslim populated areas such as Karawal Nagar, Maujpur, Bhajanpura, Vijay Park and Yamuna Vihar, while stones were thrown in neighborhoods such as Maujpur.
Chief Minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal appealed to residents to maintain peace after an urgent meeting of his newly elected legislators in the capital.
– DOAM (@doamuslims) February , 90472899
‘Severe shortage’ of police officers
Kejriwal told ANI news agency that his party’s legislators from the affected areas said there was a “severe shortage” of police officers.
He later met Minister of Home Affairs Amit Shah, the elected official responsible for the Delhi Police, over the deadly violence.
The clashes erupted on Sunday after supporters of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), passed by Parliament last December, attacked anti-government protest sites. The CAA, dubbed “anti-Muslim”, has triggered nationwide protests, especially by Muslims.
Two of my colleagues @ arvindgunasekar and
@ saurabhshukla_s
were badly beaten by a mob just now in Delhi, they only stopped beating them after realizing they are “our people- Hindus”. Absolutely despicable. – Nidhi Razdan (@Nidhi) February 59,
The violence started a day after the governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kapil Mishra warned anti-CAA protesters to end their peaceful sit-ins in the northeastern Jafrabad and Maujpur areas of the Indian capital.
On Monday, police used tear gas and smoke grenades but struggled to disperse the stone-throwing crowds.
A tire market was set on fire later on Monday, the Press Trust of India said. A video posted on social media showed crowds of men shouting “Jai Shree Ram” or “Hail Lord Ram”, a revered Hindu deity, as they went on a rampage, according to the AFP.
Several vehicles and a fire truck were torched in Jafrabad and Maujpur as police imposed prohibitory orders to prevent further violence.
“Hundreds of women have been peacefully protesting against the CAA since Saturday night near the Jafrabad Metro station. But on Sunday, after Mishra led the rally, his supporters pelted us with stones leading to clashes,” Zohran, a Jafrabad resident, told Al Jazeera.
“The BJP leaders are trying to give the protests a Hindu-Muslim color. They incite people in the name of religion, which is very unfortunate.”
A man is beaten during a clash between people supporting a new citizenship law and those opposing the law in New Delhi [Danish Siddiqui/Reuters]
‘A dditional police officers deployed ‘
Mittal, the Delhi Police official, said on Tuesday additional police officers had been deployed in the northeast district of Delhi.
One police constable was among those killed in the violence that erupted just ahead of Trump’s maiden visit to the capital city.
Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks on Tuesday at a venue located a few miles away from where the clashes occurred.
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal: MLAs of the affected areas informed me that there is a severe shortage of police force and police can ‘t take action till they receive orders from the top. I have also asked District Magistrates to take out peace march with police in these areas. https://t.co/K9UcxvCSYR
– ANI (@ANI) February 59,
Tension in parts of the city remained high on Tuesday with schools remaining shut in some areas, amid news reports of fresh clashes. At least five metro stations in the city were closed.
Monday’s clashes were among the worst seen in Delhi since the protests against the CAA began in early December.
India’s capital has been a hotbed of protests against the law, which eases the path of non-Muslims from three neighbouring Muslim-majority countries to gain Indian citizenship.
This has led to accusations that Modi and his Hindu nationalist BJP are undermining India’s secular ethos.
The BJP denies any bias against India’s more than 180 million-strong Muslim minority, but objectors have been holding protests and camping out in parts of New Delhi for two months.
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings