Anti-CAA protests turn bloody, 3 deaths reported across India

The pan-India protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act took an ugly turn on Thursday (December 19) with multiple deaths being reported from across the country. As per reports, one protester died in Lucknow and two killed in Mangaluru, where police were seen opening fire on the demonstrators.

The two men who were killed in Mangaluru were identified as Abdul Jaleel (42), a fish vendor, and Nausheen (25), a mechanic.

This comes amid a mass uprising from several sections of the society with politicians, activists, academics, students and minority groups defying prohibitory orders and taking to the streets in hordes to protest against the recently amended Citizenship Act. Union Minister Amit Shah was set to chair a review meeting on Thursday over the protests across the country.

Protests, some even reaching aggressive levels, were reported from across the length and breadth of the country – from New Delhi, Bihar and Chandigarh in the north to Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Maharashtra and Puducherry in the south.

Anticipating trouble, police departments of New Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Bhubaneswar, Kolkata, Bhopal, Bengaluru and Chennai on Wednesday (December 18) had denied permission for the all-India stir called by the Opposition earlier this week.

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Security arrangements were beefed up by state administrations in at least 10 states and Section 144 was imposed in Uttar Pradesh, New Delhi, Shillong (Meghalaya) and in several districts of Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka to nip any agitations in the bud.

But protesters across cities braved police barricades and went ahead with the agitation, some places even witnessing clashes between police personnel and protesters and incidents of stone-throwing and arson.

In Uttar Pradesh’s Khadra, protesters resorted to stone-pelting and clashed with the police after the latter used batons to disperse the crowd. An irate mob later torched two buses of the state transport corporation. In Lucknow, the situation went out of hand when police resorted to lathi charge of protesters demonstrating near Hazratganj area.

In Delhi, hundreds of agitators including Left leaders like D Raja and Sitaram Yechury and Swaraj India leader Yogendra Yadav were detained by police during protests at Red Fort and Mandi House. In Bengaluru, protesters including historian Ramachandra Guha, were detained by the police from Town Hall.

As the protests spread like wildfire, the Delhi police instructed telcom service providers to stall internet, mobile and internet services in the national capital.

Earlier, the Delhi police’s barricading of the Delhi-Gurugram border resulted in heavy traffic congestion, stranding commuters on the NH-48 for hours together. The Delhi Metro also shut gates of 18 metro stations including those at Lal Quila, Jama Masjid, Chandni Chowk, Jamia Milia Islamia and Shaheen Bagh.

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A petition was filed in the Karnataka High Court challenging the imposition of Section 144 in the state. The court posted the matter for December 21.

During a rally in Kolkata, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee challenged the Modi government to go for a UN-monitored referendum over the amended legislation and the proposed nationwide National Register of Citizens. “Just because BJP has the majority, it doesn’t mean they can do whatever they want. If they have guts, they should go for a UN-monitored referendum,” Banerjee said.

Meanwhile, the official website of the Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) was hacked on Thursday by Dark Knight hackers and a message was posted on the website saying it was hacked in support of the students protesting against the amended law. “Hacked by Dark Knight to support Jamia students. Jai Hind! Brave students of Jamia keep fighting against the oppression. Don’t let the movement die. Every time they hit you Rise up stronger! Rise up stronger! Rise up stronger! Rise up stronger!” the message read.

In Bihar, CPI(M) workers blocked the railway track at Laheriasarai railway station to protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and NRC. Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray in an interaction with Muslim representatives urged them to maintain law and order during protests.

Ever since the bill became a law, protests have been rocking the country. Five people have died in Assam. Buses and trains were set on fire in Bengal. And elsewhere, there has been no let-up in demonstrations.

The controversial law grants citizenship to non-Muslims from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh if they had moved into India prior to 2014. Those opposed to it say that the law is not in tune with the secular foundations of the Constitution.

As many as 59 pleas were filed in the Supreme Court, which after issuing a notice to the Centre adjourned the case to January 22.