For the second time in three days, a man opened fire near the site of an anti-CAA protest in the capital. The man, identified as Kapil Gujjar, declared that only the “voice of Hindus would count” in the country, as he was taken away by the police from the protest site at Shaheen Bagh.
No one was injured as Gujjar fired two shots in the air, police said on Saturday evening.
Chinmoy Biswal, DCP (South East) said the shooter was a resident of Dallupura area. Police were trying find out from where he had procured the pistol. An FIR has been registered under sections of the Arms Act.
“We have recovered the countrymade weapon from his possession,” said a police officer. “He is in the dairy business and claimed that his family faces problems while commuting to the Lajpat Nagar area in south Delhi to shop for an upcoming wedding because of the road blockade by the protesters.”
Police said they had beefed up security around the protest site and people entering the area would be frisked with the help of volunteers. “People roaming around the protest site will be randomly checked. It is for the safety of the protesters,” said the officer.
On Thursday, a “juvenile” had shot and injured a Jamia Millia Islamia student , Shadaab Farooq. He had posted on Facebook that the “Shaheen Bagh game was over.”
With polling in Delhi only eight days away, Home Minister Amit Shah has gone on record asking voters to press the button for the BJP on the electronic voting machine so that the “current” was felt in Shaheen Bagh.
Earlier on Saturday, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had hit out at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) at a rally in Delhi. “They [the AAP] don’t want good quality roads, water, the expansion of the metro... all they want is Shaheen Bagh... You have to decide whether you want all-round development or Shaheen Bagh... he will waste tax payers’ money on feeding them biriyani.”
On Thursday, the Election Commission barred Union Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur from campaigning for three days after he participated in a chant of “ desh ke ghaddaron ko, goil maro salon ko ” (shoot the traitors in the country).
Thousands of people have been sitting on a peaceful dharna since December 15 in Shaheen Bagh against the CAA-NRC-NPR regime, demanding that the Government not go ahead with its divisive agenda.
AAP MP Sanjay Singh said in a tweet after Saturday’s shooting that he had warned on Friday itself that a “conspiracy” was being hatched to create a “major incident” in the Capital to postpone the elections.
(With inputs from Jatin Anand)
