Another Clash Between Pro- And Anti-CAA Groups in Delhi’s Maujpur
Police reportedly once again fired tear gas shells to disperse the protesters.
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Clashes broke out between pro and anti-CAA groups in northeast Delhi's Maujpur area for the second consecutive day on Monday, 24 February, with agitators pelting stones at each other, according to PTI.
Police reportedly once again fired tear gas shells to disperse the protesters. A few policemen also attempted to pacify the groups. The entry and exit at the Jaffrabad and Maujpur-Babarpur stations were closed after the incident.
On Sunday, clashes broke out between two groups of people near Jaffrabad, Maujpur in northeast Delhi, where a large number of people had gathered to protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), around 4:30 pm.
Tensions were high near Jaffrabad after hundreds of anti-CAA protesters, mostly women, blocked a road near the Jaffrabad metro station, which connects Seelampur with Maujpur and Yamuna Vihar.
Protesters had occupied the road since Saturday night in support of the bandh call against the CAA given by Chandrasekhar Azad of Bhim Army.
Alok Kumar, Joint Commissioner of Police (Eastern Range), told ANI, “Stones were also pelted at the police. The situation has been brought under control. Adequate personnel have been deployed and are conducting flag marches.”
An eyewitness told The Quint that protesters who were present near the Maujpur metro station were attacked by an alleged pro-CAA group.
They were attacked with stones and car windows were smashed, they alleged. The DMRC later shut the Maujpur-Babarpur metro stations.
The 400-metre-stretch between Maujpur traffic signal, where a Shani temple is located, to Babarpur station, was strewn with bricks and stones in the aftermath of the violence. The two groups blamed each other for triggering the unrest.
"We are trying to identify the people behind the incident," Joint Commissioner of Police (Eastern Range) Alok Kumar told reporters.
The situation is under control now, a senior police official told PTI. "We are continuously speaking to local leaders so that peace prevails in the area and are also requesting protesters to clear the main road," he said.
Will Not Allow Another Shaheen Bagh: Kapil Mishra
Soon before the clashes erupted, BJP leader Kapil Mishra led a demonstration and said that he won’t allow “another Shaheen Bagh to happen.”
"They want to cut off 35 lakh people by blocking the roads. Is this the way to protest against anything? We will not allow the area to be turned into Shaheen Bagh," Mishra said.
"Nearly 35 lakh people are affected by these roadblocks. They have no other way to cross the Yamuna. Had I not led them to protest the roadblocks, they would have taken to streets themselves," Mishra told PTI.
In a video tweeted by him where he can be seen addressing the gathering, Mishra said, "They (protesters) want to create trouble in Delhi. That's why they have closed the roads. That's why they have created a riot-like situation here. We have not pelted any stone".
(With inputs from ANI, PTI.)
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