(Anti)-Anti-CAA: Delhi protesters shot at third time in four days

Published February 3, 2020
Police said that some students informed officials that shots had been fired at the varsity's gate, which is at a distance of two kilometres from Shaheen Bagh. — Reuters/ File
Police said that some students informed officials that shots had been fired at the varsity's gate, which is at a distance of two kilometres from Shaheen Bagh. — Reuters/ File

In the third incident of its kind in New Delhi, unidentified suspects opened fire at the gate of Jamia Milia Islamia University amid anti-citizenship protests in the Indian capital, reported NDTV on Monday.

According to the report, two suspects on a scooter opened fire outside Gate No. 5. However, no injuries were reported during the shooting which is the third incident of its kind during the past four days.

Police said that some students informed officials that shots had been fired at the varsity's gate, which is at a distance of two kilometres from Shaheen Bagh — the site where protesters have set up camp for the past two months in protest of India's citizenship bill, the report said.

Quoting senior police official Jagdish Yadav, the publication added that eye witness statements had been recorded on the basis of which an FIR was registered.

Meanwhile, senior police officer Kumar Gyanesh said that law enforcement personnel of the Jamia Nagar police station visited the site but did not find any empty bullet shells. He added that there were conflicting reports about the vehicle used by the miscreants, with some claiming it was a scooter while others saying it was a car, the report said.

According to NDTV, a man was arrested on Saturday for firing while standing near police barricades set up at Shaheen Bagh.

Prior to this, an unidentified man had fired at a demonstration against India's citizenship law on Jan 30 near the JMI varsity, wounding one person.

Witnesses had said the man holding a gun shouted slogans against the protesters near the varsity, before firing at them.

Protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act, which fast-tracks Indian citizenship for non-Muslim minorities from three neighbouring countries, have flared since last December.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government insists the law is required to help persecuted minorities who fled to India before 2015 from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

But protesters insist the law, and a proposed national register for citizens, discriminates against the country's Muslim minority and violates India's secular constitution.

In recent days, leaders from Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have called for action against the protesters, who they term as unpatriotic.

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