An anti-citizenship law protest site has been cleared by police in Shaheeh Bagh, Dehli, after Delhi chief Arvind Kejriwal announced restrictions on gatherings of more than 20 people last week to slow the spread of the pandemic. Tents were dismantled after protesters were removed and several people were detained from Delhi's Shaheen Bagh after they resisted. Nine protestors, including six women, have been taken to custody.
Breaking--शाहीनबाग में पुलीस ने कार्यवाई की है,जो टेंट सड़कों पर लगा हुआ था पुलीस ने उसको हटा दिया है ..काफी मात्रा में सुरक्षा बल तैनात है,कुछ लोगों को डिटेन भी किया गया है #ShaheenBagh #ShaheenBaghProtest #coronavirusindia pic.twitter.com/YwjBFgzANS
— Vinay Kumar (@hislopia) March 24, 2020
DCP South East:People at the protest site in Shaheen Bagh were requested today to clear the site as lockdown has been imposed. But after they refused, action was taken against violators as the assembly was unlawful. Protest site has been cleared.Some protestors have been detained https://t.co/lVgXzL9WD6 pic.twitter.com/0uBdwGHKMw
— ANI (@ANI) March 24, 2020
Similar protests inspired by Shaheenbagh in other areas of Delhi have also been cleared by police. Some eight protest sites, including Shaheeh Bagh, have been cleared by police supporting paramilitary forces.
Shaheen Bagh protesters evicted by police due to the #Coronavirus outbreak pic.twitter.com/H4KoKFmH1C
— Rishikesh Kumar (@rishhikesh) March 24, 2020
— Shweta Sharma (@Ss22Shweta) March 24, 2020
The protest site blocked an arterial road connecting southeast Delhi to adjoining Noida, leading to massive traffic jams and diversions. Hearing a petition on seeking the removal of anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protesters from Delhi's Shaheen Bagh and the clearing of the Kalindi Kunj road, India's top court earlier said a protest on a public road cannot continue indefinitely.
Introduced in December 2019, the CAA grants citizenship to undocumented Hindu, Sikh, Christian, Buddhist, Jain, and Parsi immigrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan. The law sparked violent protests across India for purportedly discriminating against Muslims, who form a minority in the country of an estimated 200 million.
