Around 500 security personnel, including Delhi Police and paramilitary officers, were deployed in south-east Delhi on Sunday as protests against the Citizenship Act turned violent.
The clash between the police and the protesters continued for around three hours outside Jamia Millia Islamia metro station. Stones were pelted by both sides. The police also fired tear gas shells in an attempt to disperse the crowd, but to no avail.
The protesters were forced to retreat only after senior Delhi Police officers arrived at the spot with extra force. Over 200 tear gas shells were used to control stone-pelters and more than 50 canes were broken as the protesters were lathi-charged, said a senior police officer.
Shards of broken windshields of vehicles, gutted cars, scattered footwears and bloodstains covered Mathura Road all the way to Jamia Nagar. When the police chased the violent mob, the protesters rushed towards Jamia Nagar.
Loud bangs of tear gas shells resonated in the area. Markets and shops, including those in Batla House, Okhla Head and Shaheen Bagh, were closed and people stayed indoors.
“Everything was normal till I saw a huge mob being chased by the police... The protesters were rushing towards Jamia Nagar. Before I could understand what was happening, stone pelting started and gunshots were heard. I left my two-wheeler at the spot and rushed towards a safe location. I came back after four hours only to find that my vehicle had been damaged,” said Javed Hussain, a local resident.
Residents said that protests had been take place since the past few days, but they did not expect that the level of violence would escalate to such an extent.
“The entire market closed down within five minutes after the stone pelting began. It seems that the protest was hijacked by outsiders who got mixed in the crowd of students,” said Mohammed Imran, a local shopkeeper. Scores of damaged bikes were scatted in front of Jamia Millia Islamia campus. The movement of traffic on the roads in the affected became normal around 10 p.m.
