Protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) on Tuesday turned violent in the Seelampur area of east Delhi as demonstrators pelted stones at police who had to resort to tear gas shelling to disperse the mob, news agency PTI reported.
Senior police officer in its statement has said, the protest began around 12 noon when the people from the area assembled at Seelampur T-point and raised slogans against the act, the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the government. Seelampur police station is also reported to be burnt. The entry and exit gates at metro stations Gokulpuri, Seelampur, Maujpur-Babarpur, have been shut, according to Delhi Metro Rail Corporation.
Security Update
Entry & exit gates of Johri Enclave and Shiv Vihar are closed. Trains will not be halting at these stations.
— Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (@OfficialDMRC) December 17, 2019
The crowd was protesting against violence during a police crackdown on a protest at the Jamia Millia University on Sunday evening. At least two policemen were injured, according to news agency Reuters. It quoted a witness as saying that a “peaceful protest against the Citizenship law got out of hand.”
Cars were damaged and roads strewn with rocks while small fires on the road sent smoke into the air.
In a statement, Delhi Police has said, “the protest was scheduled in Jaffrabad,North East Delhi at 2 pm today. People gathered around 1:15pm and marched towards Seelampur. Initially, protest was peaceful but suddenly violence emerged while they were dispersing.”