In a shocking remark, Union Minister of State for Railways on Tuesday told news agency ANI that he has told the district administration and railway authorities concerned that if anybody destroys public property, they can be shot at sight.
"I have told the district administration and railway authorities concerned that if anybody destroys public property, they can be shot at sight. I am giving this directive as a Union Minister," Suresh Angadi, the Union Minister of State for Railways, told news agency ANI.
The controversial statement comes amid nationwide protests against the amended Citizenship Act, which aims to make it easier for non-Muslim migrants from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh to become Indian nationals.
Earlier today, angry protesters demanding scrapping of the amended citizenship law torched several motor bikes, pelted stones at police personnel and damaged buses and a police booth in Northeast Delhi's Seelampur area on Tuesday afternoon, in fresh violence in the national capital. Police resorted to baton charge and fired tear gas shells to disperse the protesters.
Plumes of smoke billowed from at least two localities as the standoff continued for around one-and-a-half hours. Police said the situation has been brought under control. They said two bikes of traffic cops were burnt by the demonstrators, adding a police booth in the area was vandalised and CCTV cameras installed there were taken away by the mob. Some security personnel were also injured in the incident, police said.
The clashes erupted two days after violence broke out during a protest in the New Friends area in South Delhi near Jamia Millia Islamia.
A large number of policemen were deployed as tension prevailed in Seelampur and adjoining areas following the violence. Police said the protesters were marching from Seelampur towards Zaffrabad. Clashes erupted at Seelampur Chowk when the security personnel tried to stop the protesters from moving ahead.
According to a senior police officer, the protest began at around 12 noon. The protesters raised slogans against the new law as well as the National Register of Citizens (NRC). Another senior police officer said the the situation is now under control. Faisal Ahmed, a protestor, said, "We have come here to raise our voice against CAA and NRC.
I got injuries on my right leg during police attack." Police said there were initially small groups of people who started the protest against the CAA and they went in lanes and bylanes of Seelampur.
By the time they came on the Zaffrabad main road, there were almost 3,000 people and the police were escorting them. They were moving towards Seelampur T-point where barricades were placed, an officer said, adding that several announcements were made requesting them to disperse.
"When they started dispersing, suddenly stones were hurled. We made several requests to them not to pelt stones, but they did not relent, forcing us to use tear gas to disperse them," he said.
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