The Delhi Police on Monday arrested a wrestler for allegedly supplying a weapon to the teenager who shot a protestor outside Jamia Millia Islamia University on January 30, PTI reported. The police said the accused, Ajeet, is a resident of Sahajpura village in Uttar Pradesh’s Aligarh district.
“We have arrested the accused from whom the juvenile had procured the weapon,” Delhi Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Rajesh Deo said. “He is a wrestler.” Deo said the accused will be produced in a local court on Tuesday.
The gunman had livestreamed parts of the protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act right before he fired at Shadab Farooq, the student who was injured. The demonstrators were marching towards Rajghat – Mahatma Gandhi’s memorial – when the incident occurred. The police subsequently took the teenager into protective custody.
Facebook subsequently took down the teenager’s account. On January 31, Farooq was discharged from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences after a surgery to remove the bullet. The same day, the Delhi Police evicted students who were protesting against the shooting outside the police headquarters at ITO.
A copycat incident took place outside the university on Sunday night, when shots were fired outside its Gate No 5. Two attackers, one of them wearing a red jacket, came on a red scooter, the Jamia Coordination Committee formed to protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act said. After the incident, scores of people at the protest site gathered outside the Jamia Nagar Police Station to register a complaint.
These incidents have been linked to belligerent rhetoric by Union ministers ahead of the Delhi elections on February 8. Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur had in a rally on January 30 encouraged the audience to chant “desh ke gaddaron ko, goli maaro saalon ko” (shoot the traitors of the country). The teachers’ association of Jamia Millia Islamia blamed Thakur’s remarks for the firing that very day.
The Election Commission of India on Monday removed Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast Delhi) Chinmoy Biswal, from his post after the two firing incidents at Jamia Millia Islamia and one at Shaheen Bagh.
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