Tension gripped some localities adjoining the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) campus on Tuesday, as crowds started assembling at crossings and raised slogans against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act .
But there was marked improvement from the situation prevailing after clashes between the AMU students and the police on Sunday. The 26 people arrested after the earlier clashes were released late on Monday night.
On Tuesday, shopkeepers in Jamalpur and Dodhpur downed shutters as tensions erupted briefly.
A police force was rushed to the spots and the situation eventually defused. “With the help of the local community leaders and announcements from mosques, we managed to persuade the protesters that their concerns would be conveyed to the government and that their interests would not be served by taking the law into their own hands,” SP Abhishek said.
Protests were also held at the highly-sensitive Upper Court area in the old city.
Earlier, 26 people, including eight students, arrested in connection with the violence at the varsity and the surrounding areas were released on personal bonds.
“Out of these 26 people arrested from the AMU campus on Sunday night, only eight are students of AMU. The rest are outsiders,” SSP Akash Kulhari told PTI.
Proctor of AMU Professor Afifullah Khan said, “In view of the tense situation on the AMU campus and the surrounding areas, we had approached the DM to release the arrested students as a special case and this was done by the administration.”
Also read | At least 60 injured in police crackdown at Aligarh Muslim University
The University on Sunday witnessed violent protests over the amended Citizenship Act.
The process of the evacuation of hostels at the varsity continued on Monday, and according to the latest figures provided by the AMU administration, about 9,500 out of 11,500 inmates have left for home, university officials said.
Till late Monday night, a crowd of around 5,000 protesters had collected outside the Kotwali demanding the release of the arrested AMU students.
The protesters were led by a large number of burqa-clad women.
Published - December 17, 2019 05:42 pm IST
