CAA protests: Delhi Police arrests 10 more for Seelampur violence

Delhi Police on Thursday arrested ten more people for allegedly inciting violence in the Seelampur area amid the protest against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). According to police, out of ten, four accused have a criminal background. They have been accused of pelting stones, burning the police booth and setting two-wheelers on ablaze during the protest. On Wednesday, the cops arrested eight people for their alleged involvement in instigating violence in Seelampur and turning it into a battlefield.

Accused identified through videos taken during the protest

All the accused were identified through videos taken during the anti-CAA protest. They all are residents of Delhi. Besides, Section 144 has been imposed in the north-east area and Red Fort area to maintain law and order hours after a request by a Swaraj Abhiyan for a peaceful march against the Citizenship Amendment Act was denied by the police from Red Fort area to Shaheed Park, ITO. Protests escalated in Delhi since Sunday over the CAA.  Protests against the new citizenship law have escalated across the country over the past week. Thursday saw multiple protest rallies in the Capital and in cities across the country.

Anti-CAA protests across the nation

There have been detentions of political leaders and intellectuals voicing their protest against the CAA. Historian Ramchandra Guha and Left leaders on Thursday were detained by Bengaluru police. Left leaders D Raja, Sitaram Yechury, Nilotpal Basu, Brinda Karat and others were detained at Mandi House in Delhi for defying prohibitory orders imposed by the police. Meanwhile, Section 144 has been imposed near Red Fort and other parts of Delhi, in Karnataka and in Uttar Pradesh. 

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Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court on Thursday issued a notice to the Centre, the Delhi government and the police on a PIL seeking setting up of a fact-finding committee to look into violence at Jamia Millia Islamia University during protests against the Citizen (Amendment) Act (CAA). A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel, however, declined interim protection to students from coercive action including arrest. The protest is against the amended Citizenship Act which amends the Citizenship Act 1955 to make refugees who are Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, eligible for citizenship.

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(With ANI inputs)