North East Delhi continued to be beset by violence for the third day on Tuesday, with mob attacks on Muslim neighbourhoods mounting. The violence, which began after attempts by mobs to evict anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protesters on Sunday, saw the death toll reach 13, with reports of arson and vandalism continuing through the day.
Delhi Police and paramilitary forces carried out flag marches in some areas after dispersing mobs, though the situation remained uncertain in many places.
- Eight more people were killed on Tuesday, in addition to five on Monday, according to authorities at the Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital in North East Delhi.
- After a day of violence, reports continued to emerge on Tuesday evening of mobs in Chand Bagh area, where police used teargas in an attempt to disperse them. A Bharatiya Janata Party leader claimed that police had enforced a curfew in four neighbourhoods. Reports also emerged that police had cleared out the anti-Citizenship Act amendment protests in those areas.
- ANI reported first that police had denied imposing a curfew and shoot-at-sight orders, but later retracted that correction as well and said that shoot-at-sight orders were indeed in place, with no specific details.
- Scroll.in reporters found anti-Muslim mobs controlling some areas of the capital, particularly in the Gokulpuri and Jaffrabad areas that saw violence on Monday as well. Shops were closed and several properties were found to have been vandalised and set on fire in Gokulpuri, a market with a significant Muslim presence. A van driver and his partner were stopped and beaten up near Gokulpuri market after being identified by their religion. And reports also emerged of a 14-year-old boy waiting for ambulance service in the area after getting shot.
- Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who chaired a meeting of top politicians and police officers in the day, claimed that there was no lack of forces and that Delhi Police had done a good job. Reports claimed that Shah had cautioned against criticising the Delhi Police, saying “unnecessary and unwarranted criticism can have a negative impact on the morale of the force.”
- A Hindu mob attacked a mosque in Delhi’s Ashok Nagar area. The mob, shouting “Jai Shri Ram” and “Hinduon ka Hindustan [India for Hindus]” paraded around the burning mosque, and a “Hanuman flag” was placed on top of the building, reports said.
- The day also saw attacks on several journalists by the mobs, including one who was shot. NDTV said that four of its reporters as well as camerapersons were attacked, with one losing three teeth and another hurt enough to be left with a limp.
- Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and other Aam Aadmi Party leaders went to Raj Ghat, a memorial dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi. Kejriwal called for an end to violence and urged protestors to follow Gandhi’s path. Later, he and Sisodia visited hospitals where the injured had been admitted. The chief minister also said that Delhi’s borders should be closed. Kejriwal had a meeting with Home Minister Amit Shah in the afternoon.
- A high alert was sounded in Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh, following clashes in Delhi. The Lucknow police chief said additional forces have been deployed in Ghantaghar area where women and others have been staging a protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act. Security was also beefed up in Aligarh.
- United States President Donald Trump, who is in India, said he had discussed religious freedom with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but added that it was “up to India” to handle the ongoing violence in parts of Delhi. He said “individual attacks” could be handled by the government.
- Incidents of looting, stone pelting and violence continued in Maujpur, Karawal Nagar, Bhajanpura, Vijay Park, Babarpur, Jaffrabad, Gokulpuri, Kardampuri and Yamuna Vihar localities.
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