Two days after protests outside and near Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) against the amended Citizenship Act turned violent, police have arrested 10 persons in connection with the incident. A local court has sent them to judicial custody till December 31.
Criminal backgrounds
Deputy Commissioner of Police (South East) Chinmoy Biswal said that persons have been arrested on charges of rioting and arson. “All of them have criminal background, and three of them are bad characters of the area,” he added.
Mr. Biswal said that six of the accused are from Jamia Nagar while the rest are from Taimoor Nagar in New Friends Colony. “The three bad characters are in the age group of 20-30. They have cases like robbery, causing hurt, Arms Act and assault on public servant registered against them,” he added.
Police said that the accused were identified with the help of CCTV footage and videos from the day of the incident. They were arrested with the help of local intelligence. “Nothing has been recovered from their possession,” said a senior police officer.
Two FIRs lodged
The police had registered two FIRs in connection with the Sunday incident. One FIR was lodged at New Friends Colony police station and another at Jamia Nagar police station under.
In the Jamia Nagar FIR, seven persons have been named as accused including local politicians Ashu Khan, Mustafa, Haider, former Congress MLA Asif Khan, Chandan Kumar (JMI’s AISA Secretary), Asif Tanha from Jamia University, and Kasim Usmani (Chatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti member from JMI).
The document read that police asked protesters not to pelt stones which could harm the students inside the University and were asked to vacate the campus after which “minimum force” was used for evacuation of campus.
On Tuesday, protests against the amended Citizenship Act continued outside JMI where students and others gathered and raised slogans.
“Our parents support us for being here because they know the consequences; how so many Muslims will become stateless and be sent to detention camps,” said an 18-year-old JMI student.
Lawyers support protest
Lawyers from Tis Hazari and Karkardooma courts also joined the protest.
An advocate who identified himself as Dalvinder addressed the crowd and said, “We are with you and will help you if you need legal assistance. Please make sure that you protest without any violence.”
During the hearing in the local court, the police claimed that some locals, instigated by politicians, participated in the violent protests at JMI and damaged property and injured several people. “They also set on fire three police booths,” the investigating officer submitted.
The counsel for the accused said they have been falsely implicated and made a scapegoat by the Delhi Police. Another counsel appearing for an accused said he is a bike mechanic and was arrested from his house.
All of them belong from the lower income strata of society and claimed before the court that some of them were arrested from their homes, and others from their shops.
