Citizenship Act: 'Outsiders' Involved In Violence At Delhi Gate, Say Police After Car Torched Outside DCP Office

The protests against Citizenship Act turned violent in Delhi's Daryaganj area on Friday evening. Protesters torched a car outside the DCP office at Delhi Gate. Earlier, police had used water cannons in an attempt to disperse the protesters. 

Delhi Police said "outsiders" were involved in the violence near Delhi Gate. 

"We used mild force and water cannon, didn't lathicharge protesters or lob tear-gas shells. Many of our personnel have been injured. Some people have been detained," Delhi Police PRO Mandeep Singh Randhawa said.

He said that a private car was set on fire by the miscreants and an investigation is underway.

According to reports, people were carrying out a march from Jama Masjid to Jantar Mantar when they were stopped near Delhi Gate as police barricaded all the arterial roads in the area. The protest was largely peaceful before some groups joined the protesters and refused to go back. Police, who had maintained peace and patience for almost six hours, had to resort to water cannons to disperse the crowd. Meanwhile, someone used a petrol bomb to set fire to a car standing outside the police station and DCP office.

Delhi: Police uses water cannon on protesters in Daryaganj. #CitizenshipAct pic.twitter.com/bjaVhjGaT7

— ANI (@ANI) December 20, 2019

Delhi: Car torched in Daryaganj during protest over #CitizenshipAct pic.twitter.com/2o4tkDXZO6

— ANI (@ANI) December 20, 2019

Earlier, thousands of people held a massive protest near the historic Jama Masjid on Friday, shouting slogans and holding placards voicing their anguish against the new citizenship law amidst heavy deployment of police and paramilitary forces. A large number of people joined the demonstration after attending the Friday prayers at the mosque.

Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad, holding up a copy of the Constitution, was leading the protesters. Some protesters were carrying posters of B R Ambedkar, Kanshi Ram and Bhagat Singh.

Delhi police denied permission to hold any protest in the area. Protests were also witnessed in several other areas in the national capital including in northeast Delhi's Seelampur, the site of large scale violence by protestors on Tuesday.