Shaheen Bagh protest: Locals stage demonstration against closure of Kalindi Kunj road

New Delhi, February 2

A group of locals on Sunday staged a demonstration near the anti-CAA protest site in Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh, demanding the removal of barricades from the road connecting Noida with Kalindi Kunj.

The protesters demanded that the people, who have been sitting on dharna there for over a month to protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act, should clear the stretch as the commuters are facing difficulties, police said.

Senior officers, including Joint Commissioner of Police (Southern Range) Devesh Srivastava and Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast) Chinmoy Biswal, are at the spot monitoring the situation to ensure no untoward incident takes place.

The officers are trying to negotiate with the protestors and asking them to maintain peace.

The protestors, including women, raised slogans like “Jai Shree Ram”, “Vande Matram”, and “Khali Karao Shaheen Bagh wallo ko”.

“We want the roads to be cleared. They (anti-CAA protesters) have been sitting on protest for 50 days now. It has been causing inconvenience to us. Our children have not been able to go to school because the roads are blocked,” said Rekha Devi, a resident of Jasola.

Around 52 people have been detained. They will be released shortly, police said.

Deepak Patel, a resident of Jasola, said:  “With heavy barricading, police don’t allow us to enter the protest site where women have been sitting for over a month. I somehow managed to go to work crossing the area. But since yesterday, there has been strict checking and we were not allowed to pass through the stretch without showing an identity card”.

On Saturday, a 25-year-old man fired two rounds in the air at Shaheen Bagh and was later taken into custody.

No one was injured in the incident.

Rekha Khanna, another protestor, said they want the road to be cleared at the earliest.

“It’s been 50 days now. My husband works in Noida and my children also go to school through the same route.  We want the road to be cleared at the earliest. We only came here to protest for a day and we are being asked to disperse from here. But those who are protesting at Shaheen Bagh are not even asked to vacate. At least they should open one side of the road.” Khanna added. PTI