Protesters Set Car On Fire, Cops Use Water Cannons At Old Delhi

The Chandni Chowk Metro station has been temporarily closed as a result of the violence.

New Delhi:

Hours after Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad led a massive protest against the new citizenship law at Delhi’s Jama Masjid, hundreds of protestors took to the streets of the national capital this evening in fresh protests against the controversial law. In dramatic visuals the hundreds of protestors – who were marching from Jama Masjid in Old Delhi to Jantar Mantar in the central part of the city – were blocked by Delhi Police at Delhi Gate; the cops had put up barricades to control the situation.

Swelling by the minute the protestors ashed out in violence despite the cops asking for calm, forcing the cops, who deployed anti-riot Vajra vehicles, to resort to water cannons and lathi-charges to disperse the crowd and control the situation.

A vehicle was set on fire outside the Daryaganj Police Station.

Delhi Metro has closed 17 stations in response to the violence, including the busy Rajiv Chowk, Pragati Maidan and Khan Market stations to restrict movement of the protestors.

“Entry and exit gates of Rajiv Chowk, Pragati Maidan and Khan Market are closed. Interchange facility is available at Rajiv Chowk,” the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) said according to news agency PTI. Earlier, Johri Enclave, Shiv Vihar and Dilshad Garden stations were among those closed.

This evening’s protest is the latest in a series of confrontations between Delhi Police and members of the public; on Thursday prohibitory orders were imposed and internet suspended in parts of the city, including ITO where several newspapers are based.

On Tuesday afternoon a school bus was damaged and a police booth was set on fire as clashes erupted at Seelampur in east Delhi. The police used batons and fired tear gas shells as some 2,000 protesters threw stones and set fire to vehicles.