CAA Protests: Death Count Rises To 18, Internet Services Suspended In 25 Districts Of Uttar Pradesh

The death count in violence related to protests against Citizenship Amendment Act in Uttar Pradesh has climbed to 18, officials said on Sunday. According to reports, all the deaths were caused by bullets fired by protesters. Over 260 policemen were also injured, of whom 57 received gunshot wounds in Kanpur, IG (Law and Order) Praveen Kumar was quoted as saying by PTI. In Muzaffarnagar, 25 policemen were injured in stone-pelting on Friday and SP City got pellet injury when someone in the crowd used an illegal firearm, SP Abhishek Yadav said.

Meanwhile, internet services have been suspended in 25 districts of Uttar Pradesh. The internet will remain suspended till Monday noon. Districts, where the internet will remain suspended, are - Lucknow, Sitapur, Aligarh, Saharanpur, Meerut, Shamli, Muzaffarnagar, Ghaziabad, Bareilly, Mau, Sambhal, Azamgarh, Agra, Kanpur, Chandauli, Varanasi Firozabad, Mathura, Pilibhit, Bulandshahar, Amroha, Rampur, Bijnor, Moradabad Monday and Prayag.

All the schools, colleges and other educational institutes in the state capital will remain closed till December 24.

Amid ongoing protests, sixty-five people were arrested and 350, including a former legislator, booked for allegedly spreading violence over the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in Ghaziabad.

A special drive has been launched to nab miscreants resorting to violence and pelting stones on police during protests, they said.

More than 65 people have been arrested and FIRs registered against 350 anti-social elements, Senior Superintendent of Police Sudhir Kumar Singh told PTI. An FIR has been also lodged against former Loni MLA Zakir Ali, he added. Singh said miscreants have been identified and will be arrested soon.

After a lull of four days, AMU campus again witnessed protests on Saturday with hundreds of AMU non-teaching staff joining hands with AMU teachers' association, protesting against the CAA and "police atrocities" against the agitators in various parts of the state on Friday.