Stones, footwear and bloodstains on streets were the remnants of a protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, which began peacefully at Jama Masjid but ended with arson two kilometres away near the Daryaganj police station on Friday.
At least 40 people were detained and 21 injured after Delhi police used lathis and water cannon to disperse the protesters who hurled stones at security personnel. Some people, who the police said were “outsiders”, set ablaze a car outside the police station near Delhi Gate. The fire was immediately doused with water and fire extinguishers.
Many among those who were detained were heard pleading that they were protesters but not involved in the violence, and had merely been caught in the cross hairs.
Epicentre of protest
The epicentre of the protest was Jama Masjid where a large number of people gathered for Friday prayers, defying prohibitory orders and police clampdown. They started marching peacefully towards Jantar Mantar and around 2 p.m. they reached Delhi Gate.
“We stopped the protesters at Delhi Gate by putting barricades and told them that they cannot move further,” said Delhi Police spokesperson M.S. Randhawa.
At 4.20 p.m., scores of protesters offered prayers outside a mosque at Delhi Gate opposite the DCP (Central) office. After the prayers, announcements were made by the mosque urging the protesters to disperse peacefully and a large number of them agreed and left the site.
“We got inputs that a large group of protesters from north-east Delhi was on its way to join protest at Delhi Gate. To avoid any untoward incident, we deployed extra force in the area,” said a police officer.
“In the evening, suddenly some antisocial elements in the gathering started breaking the barricades and indulged in stone pelting in a bid to march towards Jantar Mantar against the police advice. Police used water cannon and absolutely minimum force to push them back,” said Mr. Randhawa.
Abdul Aziz, a local, said their peaceful protest was hijacked by “antisocial elements” who hurled stones at the police personnel.
“We never support violence,” he said.
Joint Commissioner of Police (Central) Rajesh Khurana and 11 police personnel received injuries during the violence, said the police.
(With inputs from PTI)
