Pro, anti-CAA protesters clash in Delhi; two Metro stations shut

New Delhi, February 23

Sporadic incidents of stone pelting on Sunday between anti- and pro-CAA groups at Maujpur in east Delhi broke a relative lull in tension over the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act.

The police fired teargas shells amid reports of two people being injured.

The tension erupted after a pro-CAA rally in the area was stoned by a group of anti-CAA protesters. Following stone pelting by both groups, the police stepped in to disperse the two groups.

Teargas shells were fired and two people have been reported injured following the outbreak of violence.

Maujpur is near Jaffrabad, where anti-CAA protesters had barricaded the road since Saturday night in support of the bandh call given by Chandrasekhar Azad of Bhim Army against the CAA.

Metro stations have been shut down in the area as a precautionary measure. Metro rail stations that have been shut down include the Maujpur-Babarpur and the Seelampur metro station, adding to the overall congestion and chaos prevailing in the area.

More security forces are being directed to the spot from other areas including nearby Jaffrabad.

The protest at Jaffrabad began on Saturday night, blocking a road which connects Seelampur with Maujpur and Yamuna Vihar.

The women, carrying the Tricolour and raising slogans of ‘aazadi’, said they would not move from the site till the Centre revokes the CAA.

In view of the protest, entry and exit gates of the Jaffrabad metro station were closed.

“Entry & exit of Jaffrabad have been closed. Trains will not be halting at this station,” the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation tweeted.

A woman, who identified herself as Bushra, had said till the time the CAA was not revoked, the protesters would not leave the site.

Social activist Faheem Baig had said there was resentment among the people against the way the government was handling the issue.

A protest is already going on near the main Seelampur road and Kardampuri against the amended citizenship Act.

The protest at Jaffrabad took place at a time efforts are being made to clear a road blocked by anti-CAA protesters at Shaheen Bagh.

The protesters have been staging a sit-in at Shaheen Bagh for over two months, blocking the road connecting southeast Delhi and Noida.

The Supreme Court has appointed interlocutors in an attempt to reach out to the anti-CAA protesters.

Sit-in at Khureji Khas

Some 5 km away, nearly 100 people had gathered to protest the citizenship law, police said.

The protesters had assembled on a stretch leading to the main road of Khureji Khas, police said.

The protests have affected traffic movement in northeast Delhi's Khureji Khas, a senior official said.

"The protesters have gathered on one side of the stretch leading to the main road. There is traffic movement but it is very slow," the official said.

"We have been talking to them and negotiating with them to clear the road," he said, adding that while many of the protesters have left the site, some people are still on a sit-in against the Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens.

"The protests have been peaceful so far. We hope they clear the stretch soon so that traffic movement can pick up," the official said.

A sufficient number of policemen have been deployed to ensure that the situation remains under control, he said. — Agencies

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