Police clash with violent pro- and anti-CAA protesters in Delhi hours before Trump set to visit Indian capital (PHOTOS/VIDEOS)
Delhi police have used tear gas to disperse hundreds of demonstrators for and against a new citizenship law. Protesters threw stones and set fires, hours before Donald Trump is scheduled to arrive in the capital.
Monday’s violence marks the latest unrest over India’s new ratified Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Supporters and opponents of the legislation were seen pelting each other with stones in the Maujpur area in the northeastern part of the capital. Another clip shows an impromptu barricade, engulfed in flames, blocking a roadway, as demonstrators hurl projectiles at each other.
All this happening in the National Capital. Can't believe my eyes as I report from ground zero in #Maujpur and witness all this pic.twitter.com/3Uq9Legtpc
— Tanushree Pandey (@TanushreePande) February 24, 2020
Unprecedented scenes in NorthEast Delhi's #Maujpur! #AntiCAA & pro-CAA protesters are overpowering hundreds of security forces. Agitators from both sides throwing stones, firing, and setting vehicles and shops ablaze. Never witnessed such large scale violence in National Capital pic.twitter.com/RjlDoLk3gv
— Tanushree Pandey (@TanushreePande) February 24, 2020
The Delhi police head constable is reported to have been killed in the violence, with several others injured. The clashes come just hours before US President Donald Trump is set to arrive in the Indian capital. He is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the city tomorrow.
Photographs taken at the scene show burnt-out shops and charred streets – the aftermath of the riots.
Burnt vehicles, homes & shops set ablaze, a road covered with stones & bricks in #Maujpur today pic.twitter.com/TmiWmnxJkR
— Somya Lakhani (@somyalakhani) February 24, 2020
India’s CAA fast-tracks citizenship for non-Muslims from three neighbouring Muslim-majority nations. Described by New Delhi as a humanitarian gesture aimed at aiding persecuted religious minorities, the legislation has sparked outrage among India’s Muslims, and in some cases has led to riots.
Critics have deemed the law discriminatory and contrary to India’s secular values, with thousands joining nationwide protests to oppose it. The government, for its part, argues the law is exclusively intended for minorities, and that Muslims can still apply for Indian citizenship by other means.
Also on rt.com ‘No scope for outside interference’: India tells Europe to mind its own business as MEPs consider anti-citizenship law resolutionsLike this story? Share it with a friend!
