In SC affidavit, Shaheen Bagh interlocutor says police blocked roads
One of the Supreme Court-appointed interlocutors has filed an affidavit on the issue of road blockage, in which he stated it was the police who blocked the five points around Shaheen Bagh. Wajahat Habibullah, a former bureaucrat, has also stated the protest in Shaheen Bagh is peaceful.
One of the interlocutors appointed by the Supreme Court to hold talks with anti-CAA protesters in Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh has filed an affidavit on the issue of road blockage, in which he stated it was the police who blocked the five points around the area.
According to news agency ANI, Wajahat Habibullah said in his affidavit the protest in Shaheen Bagh is peaceful. Besides, he stated the police have blocked the five points around Shaheen Bagh. A two-judge bench is scheduled to hear the matter on Monday (February 24).
Habibullah, a former bureaucrat, is one of the three mediators appointed by the Supreme Court to hold talks with the protesters on the issue of road blockage due to the protests. The other two interlocutors are Sanjay Hegde and Sadhna Ramachandran.
Related news: Anti-CAA protesters block Delhi road, Jaffrabad metro shut
The blockade on Road 13A, connecting Delhi and Noida, for over two months has led to a major traffic inconvenience and resulted in traffic jams in parts of south Delhi. To bring a solution to this, the top court had on February 17 appointed the three mediators to convince the protesters to shift their demonstration to an alternate venue.
So far, the interlocutors have held four round of talks with the protesters since February 19. The protesters on Saturday presented a fresh set of demands in front the mediators, seeking the top court to guarantee their safety, before the road is opened to traffic. They demanded the police to withdraw cases filed against the protesters at Shaheen Bagh and Jamia Nagar.
The other two mediators, Ramachandran and Hegde, are likely to submit their report to the top court on Monday.
Related news: Road opened in Shaheen Bagh, but blocked again
Shaheen Bagh has been the epicentre of anti-CAA protests in the city where hundreds of women have been holding a sit-in demonstration since the December 15 police action on protesters in neighbouring Jamia Millia Islamia.
The amended citizenship law seeks to fast-track the process of granting citizenship to six non-Muslim communities escaping religious persecution in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. Critics have termed the new law as discriminatory and unconstitutional.
(With inputs from agencies)
