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Protests against the Citizenship Act near Jamia Millia Islamia in Delhi on Sunday.
New Delhi:
Two persons who were part of yesterday’s protest march in Delhi — admitted to the Safdarjung Hospital allegedly with bullet injuries — had been hit by splinters from bursting tear gas shells, the Delhi Police said, strongly denying that any firearms were used to quell the mob. Joint Commissioner of Police Devesh Srivastava said, “We have not shot anyone and we do not have rubber bullet”.
The hospital’s medical superintendent had earlier told NDTV that they had bullet injuries.
The protest against the new Citizenship law – organised by the students of Jamia Millia Islamia — had culminated in a pitched battle with the crowd.
Unconfirmed videos of people with alleged bullet injuries at hospitals had been doing the rounds in social media after yesterday’s violence. But the Delhi Police, which was accused of using excessive force against the Jamia students, today categorically denied using firearms.
“There was no firing, no casualties in Jamia violence,” MS Randhawa, the Public Relations Officer of Delhi Police, told reporters at a press conference this afternoon. “There was no firing from our side. Our referral hospital is AIIMS, we did not get these people admitted. We’re trying to find out how they reached Safdarjung (hospital) and also the nature of their injuries. We are probing further. There are some things that cannot be shared right now,” he said.
Splinters from tear gas shells when they burst have been known to be lethal in the past. In some cases, they have even caused deaths.
The police had intercepted the protesters soon after the march started yesterday, asking them not to move to the city centre as planned. But the angry protesters had targeted them with stones and indulged in arson. The police had used batons and tear gas to push back the mob.
Later, the police had barged into the university and rounded up nearly a hundred students who were detained till 3 am.
The university said they had entered illegally without permission and assaulted the staff and students. The students alleged that many of them picked up from the library. Videos surfaced in social media showing signs of struggle in toilets, where unconscious students were seen lying.
The police said they needed no one’s permission to maintain law and order.
Pointing to the layout of the university, which does not have a closed campus, the officer said when the mob was being pushed back, the police gave chase. They entered the university when the men rushed inside the university gates and started throwing stones again.
The opposition have argued that the police was taking orders from the BJP, pointing to the fact that the Delhi Police is under the control of the Union home ministry.
Mr Randhawa said the crime branch will investigate the Sunday’s incident.
“The Crime Branch will investigate the Jamia violence. A thorough investigation will be done and accountability will be fixed,” he said at the press conference.
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