‘Shoot at sight,’ says Union minister as protests against Citizenship Act continue

10.05 pm: Union Home Minister Amit Shah says if students hurl stones then the “police will have to strike back”, reports India Today. “The question doesn’t arise of police going after students,” he says. “But if stone-pelting happens from inside a university, buses are torched and police doesn’t do anything, they wouldn’t be doing their duty.”

10.01 pm: A Jamia Millia Islamia University student, who is allegedly admitted to a hospital in Delhi with bullet injuries, has been moved out of the Intensive Care Unit. The student has been identified as Aijaz Ahmad. “He has suffered injury on his chest,” his mother tells India Today. “Doctors are not telling us anything clearly.”

The Delhi Police has denied firing shots during the protests that turned violent on Sunday.

9.59 pm: “Only four out of 224 universities are protesting,” says Union Home Minister Amit Shah at the Agenda AajTak 2019 event, according to India Today. “It is wrong to say that all universities are protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act. Even then these protests are happening because the students haven’t read [the] Citizenship Amendment Act, I’m sure once they read it they will know. I urge them to read the amended law once.”

9.57 pm: Police personnel are reportedly on standby at the University of Madras where students are protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act, reports India Today.

9.50 pm: Assam Director General of Police Bhaskar Jyoti Mahant tells ANI that no violence was reported in Assam today. “I never said that those killed were innocent people,” he says. “I just expressed that deaths are unfortunate.”

The police officer is referring to his earlier remark: “Four people have been killed in police action unfortunately.”

9.40 pm: Twenty one people have been injured in the protests at Delhi’s Seelampur area, says Joint Commissioner of Police Alok Kumar. Out of the 21, 12 are Delhi Police personnel, three are part of the Rapid Action Force.

Five people have been detained, and police did not use lathicharge against the crowd, he adds.

9.37 pm: Deputy Commissioner of Police (Headquarters), Howrah, Ajeet Singh Yadav has been injured after a bomb was allegedly hurled at police personnel in West Bengal while they were trying to disperse demonstrators in Sankrail city’s Manikpur area. Yadav has been admitted to a hospital.

9.34 pm: Delhi Police Public Relations Officer MS Randhawa says no police station was set ablaze during the violence at Seelampur area earlier in the day, reports ANI. “Only one police booth was damaged during protest,” he says. “CCTV footage is being collected and will be examined. Investigation underway.”

8.47 pm: Former Congress MLA Asif Khan has been named an accused by Delhi Police in the first information report filed in connection with the December 15 violence at Jamia Millia Islamia University, reports ANI.

8.29 pm: Union Minister Suresh Angadi tells ANI: “...I strictly warn concerned district administration and railway authorities, if anybody destroys public property, including railway, I direct as a minister, shoot them at sight because it is taxpayers’ money.”

8.18 pm: The University of Madras has declared holidays till December 23 after police intervened in students’ protests against the amended Citizenship Act, reports NDTV.

8.17 pm: Scroll.in has confirmed that two University of Madras students allegedly detained are Karthikeyan and Subbaiah.

8.12 pm: Chennai Police has reportedly asked more than 60 student protestors at the University of Madras to stop their demonstration in exchange for the release of two detained students, reports The Indian Express.

7.47 pm: Activist Harsh Mander visits Aligarh Muslim University, says he will constitute a fact-finding team, including members of the university’s administration. Mander adds that he will file a petition in the Supreme Court against the alleged police brutality on the varsity’s students on Sunday, reports PTI.

7.44 pm: Students of Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University hold protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act, reports ANI.

7.41 pm: Two first information reports have been registered at Seelampur and Jafrabad police stations on the violence that broke out in the area earlier in the day, reports PTI, citing Delhi Police.

7.22 pm: Indian Youth Congress holds a torch rally in protest against the police action on Jamia and Aligarh Muslim University students.

7.18 pm: Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla meets Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik to review the law and order situation in Delhi, reports ANI.

7.11 pm: Gayatri Khandhadai, a Chennai-based lawyer, tweets that two students from the University of Madras have been detained by the police. There is reportedly no information about the grounds for detention, or where they have been taken. “Our mobile signals are weak not able to send out videos or images,” she tweets.

7.08 pm: Chennai Police has entered University of Madras amid students’ protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act, reports NDTV.

7.05 pm: “There is no going back on Citizenship Act, government firm like rock on its implementation,” he tells PTI. “No action against students, but those engaged in vandalism facing action.”

7.04 pm: Union Home Minister Amit Shah says the Citizenship Amendment will withstand legal scrutiny, reports PTI.

7.01 pm: “Will take back any Bangladeshi citizen staying in India illegally if evidence is provided,” advisor to Bangladesh Prime Sheikh Hasina tells PTI.

6.57 pm: The parties that are part of the delegation that approached the president against the amended law – Congress, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist Party of India, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Samajwadi Party, Trinamool Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal, National Conference, Indian Union Muslim League and All India United Democratic Front.

6.55 pm: “All of us, representatives of 12 different political parties have met the president to plead with him to intervene in the situation in the North East, which is now spreading throughout the country including the capital in the Jamia University, because of the Act,” Sonia Gandhi says. “It is a very serious situation. We fear that it may spread even further.”

She adds that the politicians are anguished at the manner in which police personnel have dealt with peaceful demonstrations across the country.

6.54 pm: A delegation of leaders from the Opposition parties approach President Ram Nath Kovind to rollback the Citizenship Amendment Act, reports PTI. The group, led by Interim Congress President Sonia Gandhi, describes the amended law as “unconstitutional and divisive”.

6.48 pm: The Ministry of External Affairs rejects the resolution adopted in Pakistan’s National Assembly on the Citizenship Amendment Act on Monday, and says the matter is internal to India. “The Resolution is a poorly disguised effort to divert attention from Pakistan’s appalling treatment and persecution of its own religious minorities,” the statement reads. “The demographics of these minorities, whether Hindu, Christian, Sikh or other faiths, in Pakistan speak for themselves.”

6.45 pm: Lieutenant Governor of Delhi Anil Baijal appeals for calm in the national Capital. “Appeal to all Delhiites to maintain peace,” he tweets. “Do not get involved in any kind of violence and immediately inform the Delhi Police about those indulging in violence. Violence is not only illegal but also inhuman. Express yourself through peaceful democratic means.”

6.35 pm: Inspector General (Law and Order) Praveen Kumar says 28 people have been detained after violent protests broke out in Mau yesterday, over the Citizenship Amendment Act, reports ANI. Kumar says the inquiry is underway.

Protestors had allegedly torched 15 vehicles at a demonstration against the Citizenship Amendment Act in Dakshintola area of Mau in Uttar Pradesh on Monday evening.

6.24 pm: The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation announces that all entry and exit gates of Welcome, Gokulpuri, Johri Enclave and Shiv Vihar stations are open.

5.43 pm: A Delhi court sends six accused in connection with Jamia violence to judicial custody for 14 days, ANI reports.

5.41 pm: Delhi Police public relations officer MS Randhawa says the situation is under control in Seelampur, ANI reports. “We are monitoring the situation,” he says. “We are taking CCTV footage from areas where any incident is taking place. Video recording is also being done. None of the people, involved in such incidents, will be spared.”

5.38 pm: Delhi Police personnel are patrolling the city’s Daryaganj area, reports ANI.

5.36 pm: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal urges people to maintain peace. “Violence cannot be tolerated in a civilised society, and it does not help achieve anything,” he tweets. “We should put forth our opinion peacefully.” The statement comes hours after protests erupted in the city’s Seelampur area.

5.33 pm: The Modi government does not have any compassion “when it comes to shutting down people’s voices and implement legislation”, Sonia Gandhi tells reporters.

5.31 pm: Sonia Gandhi says the situation in the country may worsen. “We are anguished at the manner in which police dealt with peaceful demonstration,” ANI quotes her as saying.

5.14 pm: The police action in Jamia is unacceptable in a democracy, Sonia Gandhi tells reporters. Derek O’Brien of the Trinamool Congress says the Opposition delegation has urged President Ram Nath Kovind to advise the government to withdraw the Citizenship Amendment Act.

5.10 pm: The leaders of some Opposition parties, led by Congress President Sonia Gandhi, have met President Ram Nath Kovind to discuss the police action in Jamia Millia Islamia University in Delhi on Sunday, reports PTI. A Bahujan Samaj Party parliamentary delegation will meet Kovind at 10.30 am on Wednesday, senior leader SC Mishra told ANI.

5.02 pm: Joint Commissioner of Delhi Police Alok Kumar tells ANI that no bullets were fired during the demonstrations in Seelampur. “Only tear gas shells used,” he adds. “Situation is under control now. Some police personnel are injured. Two public transport buses, one Rapid Action Force bus and some bikes damaged during the protest.”

5 pm: A Reuters photographer has clicked a photo of a policeman breaking the windshield of a vehicle earlier this afternoon in Delhi’s Seelampur area during a protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act.

4.52 pm: Delhi Metro says Seelampur station has been reopened. It comes a few hours after protestors clashed with the police during a demonstration against the Citizenship Amendment Act.

4.50 pm: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has said millions of Muslims may flee India because of the current situation in Jammu and Kashmir and the amended citizenship law, reports Reuters. It may lead to “a refugee crisis that would dwarf other crises”, he said in his address to the Global Forum on Refugees in Geneva.

4.45 pm: Delhi Deputy Commissioner of Police (South East) Chinmoy Biswal claims a fake photograph is being shared on social media in which a police official is being depicted as a member of a right-wing student organisation. In the photo, which went viral, a man in civilian clothes and wearing police helmets and vests is seen charging a few Jamia students with a lathi. “Police ‘bandobast’ is not only uninformed, some special plain cloth ‘bandobast’ is also deployed,” Biswal tells ANI. “They are deployed to identify miscreants in a crowd and arrest them.”

4.36 pm: Home Minister Amit Shah says the Modi government has implemented the Nehru-Liaquat pact and given citizenship to lakhs and crores of people. He accuses the Congress of not implementing the agreement because of vote-bank politics, reports ANI.

Also read:

The Nehru-Liaquat Pact failed refugees from Bangladesh – but so would the Citizenship Bill

4.31 pm: Four college students in Gujarat’s Vadodara district have been arrested for allegedly drawing objectionable graffiti, police tell PTI. They are accused of defacing walls outside the police headquarters and a place of worship on Monday by writing “no CAB Modi”. They allegedly replaced the ‘o’ in Modi with the swastika – the Nazis’ primary symbol.

4.25 pm: An official in the Ministry of Human Resource Development tells PTI that the situation in 42 central universities, except Jamia Millia Islamia and Aligarh Muslim University, is peaceful and examinations are being held as scheduled.

4.23 pm: Union Home Minister Amit Shah accuses the Opposition of misleading people about the provisions of the Citizenship Amendment Act. “I reiterate that there is no question of taking away citizenship of any person from any minority community,” ANI quotes him as saying. “There is no such provision in the bill.”

4.17 pm: The Ministry of Human Resource Development received a report on Monday night from Jamia Millia Islamia University about police violence on its campus, reports ANI. The report mentioned that the institution’s Executive Committee passed a resolution seeking a judicial inquiry into the police action. However, unidentified ministry officials say no formal request for an inquiry has been received.

3.53 pm: Protestors were swarming to barricades and throwing stones at policemen, Reuters reports.

Here are some images of the clashes between police and demonstrators.

3.42 pm: At least two police were injured in the protests, Reuters reports, citing a witness.

3.40 pm: “It was as a peaceful protest against the citizenship bill...but got out of hand,” resident Azib Aman tells Reuters.

3.30 pm: Police are using drones to monitor the situation in Jafrabad area in Delhi where clashes broke out between police and protestors during a march to oppose amendments to Citizenship Act, reports ANI.

3.25 pm: Traffic movement has been closed on road from Seelampur to Jafrabad because of protests against amendments to Citizenship Act, reports ANI.

3.20 pm: Police are using tear gas shells to disperse the protestors after a clash in Jafrabad area in Delhi, reports ANI. Two vehicles have also been vandalised.

3.12 pm: DMRC says entry and exit gates of Seelampur and Gokulpuri are closed. Trains will not halt at these stations because of protests against Citizenship Act.

3.10 pm: The entry and exit gates of Welcome, Jaffrabad and Maujpur-Babarpur metro stations are closed, says Delhi Metro Rail Corporation.

3.03 pm: Clashes erupt between police and protestors in east Delhi’s Jafrabad area, reports ANI.

2.55 pm: “Indian Constitution is our only holy book,” says Modi at a rally in Jharkhand’s Barhait. “I appeal to youth in colleges to debate our policies, protest democratically. We will listen to you. But some parties, urban naxals, are firing off your shoulders.”

2.52 pm: The prime minister challenges Congress and its allies to openly declare that they will give Indian citizenship to every Pakistani citizen and that they will bring back the erstwhile special status of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution.

2.50 pm: Addressing an election rally in Jharkhand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi accuses Congress of fuelling protests against the amendments to the Citizenship Act, ANI reports. “Congress and its allies are creating an atmosphere of lies to scare Indian Muslims,” he says. “They are spreading violence. Citizenship Amendment Act doesn’t snatch away any right of an Indian citizen or cause any harm.”

2.45 pm: Protestors are shouting slogans against the recent amendments to the Citizenship Act at Noida Highway. Here are the images from the demonstration.

2.40 pm: Protests erupt at Noida Highway against amendments to citizenship law. A protestor tells Scroll.in that barricades have been put in place and highway has been blocked.

2.30 pm: Thousands of protestors are on the street and pelting stones at police.

2.28 pm: Clashes reported in east Delhi’s New Seelampur area, according to Reuters.

2.18 pm: Strike supporters vandalised Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation buses and forced the closure of shops across Kerala, according to PTI.

2.15 pm: The Kerala Police has arrested 233 people as precautionary measure during the general strike called by a cluster of organisations to protest the amendments to the Citizenship Act, reports PTI. An official statement said that 55 people were arrested in Ernakulam rural area while 51 from Thrissur.

2.05 pm: The Australian government issues travel advisories for India after protests against the recent amendments to the Citizenship Act across the country. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has asked Australian citizens to exercise “high degree of caution” and to “monitor local media and follow the instructions of local authorities” during travel to India.

1.57 pm: Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray likens the police crackdown on Jamia students during Citizenship Act protest to “Jallianwala Bagh”, ANI reports. “Students are like a ‘Yuva bomb’. So we request the central government to not do, what they are doing, with students.”

1.45 pm: Mamata Banerjee calls the ongoing violence in West Bengal over the amended citizenship legislation as “few minor incidents”, PTI reports. “Owing to one or two small incidents, the Centre has stopped railways services in Bengal,” she adds. “It is the duty of the Railway Protection Force personnel to protect railway property, yet we provided them support.”

1.40 pm: The chief minister attacks Prime Minister Narendra Modi statements that those who are protesting against the amendments to the Citizenship Act can be identified by their clothes. “I am shocked. I am asking you, can you tell my identity from my clothes,” she asks. “The whole country is burning and they are talking about the clothes you are wearing.”

Also read: As Modi talks of identifying violent protesters by their clothes, what should Indian Muslims do?

1.35 pm: Banerjee reiterates that she will not allow the implementation of the amended Citizenship Act and the National Register of Citizens in West Bengal. “BJP did not give Opposition parties time to think and discuss Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, sought its passage in a hurry,” she says.

1.30 pm: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee begins her protest march against the amendments made to the Citizenship Act.

1.20 pm: Supreme Court directs the petitioners to approach the High Courts within whose jurisdiction the incidents have occurred, reports Bar and Bench.

12.55 pm: Solicitor General Tushar Mehta tells the bench that no student has been arrested and 67 persons, including students and other miscreants, have sustained injuries. Several police personnel also sustained injuries, he adds. “Students were take to the hospital, given medical care and no money was charged,” he claims. “In some time, Jamia University officer came and he identified the students and took them.”

12.52 pm: Chief Justice SA Bobde says that facts of the case need to be established before lower courts first and the top court should have the benefit of High Court orders.

12.44 pm: Supreme Court begins hearing pleas on alleged police atrocities on people protesting against Citizenship Amendment Act.

12.25 pm: “I saw it myself, some protesters were carrying wet blankets and putting them on tear gas shells to minimise their impact,” Gyanesh adds. “It did not seem to be spontaneous but well planned attack. Investigation [is] underway.”

12.30 pm: Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (South East) Kumar Gyanesh says petrol bombs were hurled at security forces by the protestors during the violence on Sunday, ANI reports. “These things do not happen on the spot, it shows that it was a conspiracy.”

12.25 pm: Kamal Hassan attacks ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam for supporting the citizenship law. He says “by supporting the Citizenship Amendment Bill, AIADMK has betrayed Tamil Nadu and Tamils”.

12.20 pm: The actor-turned-politician says Citizenship Act is a national matter and he tried to reach out to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

12.18 pm: Kamal Haasan criticises the police action on students protesting against the amendments to Citizenship Act. He says “every hit on a student is a slap on democracy”.

12.15 pm: “The young people must ask questions,” Haasan says. “And these questions when stifled means democracy is in dangerous Intensive Care Unit,” he adds.

12.12 pm: Makkal Needhi Maiam founder Kamal Haasan addresses media on the amended Citizenship Act.

12.01 pm: Writ petitions have been filed in Calcutta High Court over Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s statement that the amended Citizenship Act will not be implemented in the state, reports ANI.

11.49 am: Authorities relax curfew for 13 hours in Shillong, reports The Hindu. However, the ban on mobile internet services will remain in force, officials said.

11.42 am: A public bus has been pelted with stones on the Trivandrum-Munnar route during a 12-hour strike in Kerala, reports The Indian Express.

11.40 am: More than 100 students of Harvard University have condemned the violence at Jamia, reports NDTV. In an open letter to the Indian government, they have also voiced concerns about the amended Citizenship Act.

“Protests are inconvenient and disruptive, but they sustain the secular and democratic fabric of our nation,” the letter reads. “The violent suppression of protesters by the police, the use of teargas, lathi charges, and physical assault in response to peaceful dissent, and the police forces’ forceful entry into university campuses and consequent Internet blockades there are all deeply reprehensible.”

11.34 am: Student groups across India issue statements to condemn the amended Citizenship Act and the police action against students at Jamia Millia Islamia and Aligarh Muslim University on Sunday night. On Monday, campuses across India had erupted in protest against the alleged police brutality.

Also read:

Citizenship Act protests: Student groups denounce police action, say it violates human rights

11.16 am: The Union Home Ministry says Delhi Police did not open fire during the crackdown at Jamia Millia Islamia University on Sunday, PTI reports citing unidentified officials. This comes as questions are being raised about the possible use of live bullets.

11.12 am: DMK President MK Stalin holds protest against Citizenship Amendment Act in Kanchipuram.

11.11 am: The US State Department asks protestors to refrain from violence while urging the authorities to “protect and respect the right of peaceful assembly”, reports ANI. “The United States urges India to protect the rights of its religious minorities in keeping with India’s Constitution and democratic values,” says the department.

11.08 am: Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam files petition in Supreme Court against the amended Citizenship Act, reports ANI.

10.38 am: Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leaders Kanimozhi and Dayanidhi Maran hold protest against the amended Citizenship Act at Chennai Collectorate and Chepauk, respectively, reports ANI.

10.34 am: Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut says Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray will decide during a Cabinet meeting if the amended Citizenship Act will be implemented in the state. He, however, says the Sena is not part of the Opposition delegation that will meet the president.

10.30 am: Protesters, including students and local residents, assemble outside Jamia Millia Islamia University with Tricolour and placards, reports PTI. This is the second consecutive day of peaceful protests after Sunday’s violence.

10.21 am: “Three of them have a criminal background,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (southeast) Chinmoy Biswal tells Hindustan Times. “They’ve been booked for rioting and mob violence. They were identified from CCTV footage and by policemen who were on duty in the area of violence.”

10.19 am: The 10 people who have been arrested in connection with Sunday’s violence are from the Jamia and Okhla areas, reports NDTV. Both these areas border the Jamia Millia Islamia University.

10.14 am: Thirty-three organisations in Kerala have called for a statewide shutdown on Tuesday, reports News18. These political parties do not have any representation in the Kerala Assembly.

9.38 am: Assam Director General of Police Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta says situation is pretty much under control now. “136 cases have been registered so far & 190 protesters have been arrested,” he tells ANI “These were not normal democratic protesters but people who indulged in violence, some conspirators have also been arrested, including some major leaders from various organisations.”

9.20 am: Writer and activist Arundhati Roy issues a statement on the Citizenship Act, urging people to protest against it.

“Three years ago, we stood in line obediently outside banks as demonetisation was imposed on us, a policy that broke the back of our country’s economy,” she says. “Are we going to stand in line once again, obediently, and comply with the policy that eerily resembles the 1935 Nuremberg Laws of the Third Reich?”

Also read:

Arundhati Roy on Citizenship Act: ‘We are faced with the biggest challenge since Independence’

9.10 am: The Delhi Police say they have arrested 10 people with criminal backgrounds in connection with Jamia Millia Islamia incident on December 15, reports ANI. No student is among those taken into custody.

8.51 am: The Union Home Ministry issues an advisory to state governments, asking them to closely track fake news and social media messages that may incite violence, reports the Hindustan Times.

8.42 am: Communist Party of India leader and former JNU Students’ Union President Kanhaiya Kumar announces a bandh call in Bihar for Thursday. “If you do not consider us citizens, we do not consider you the government,” he says. “You may well have majority in Parliament; we have the majority on the street.”

8.30 am: Another video from the clashes shows a third individual, Mohammed Tamin, displaying what he claims a bullet injury in his thigh. He tells NDTV that a policeman shot at him from close range. However, the director of the Holy Family Hospital says no bullet wound was removed. “It was a foreign body.”

8.15 am: The medical superintendent of government-run Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi tells NDTV that two protesters were admitted with bullet injuries, contradicting the police’s claims that they did not fire bullets. The police claim that these were caused by shrapnel injuries from tear-gas shells. Both Ajaz and Shoaib Khan are said to be out of danger.

Also read

Doctors say two Jamia protestors have bullet wounds; police deny firing, say could be tear gas shell

8.10 am: The Delhi Police will probe claims that two students of Jamia Millia Islamia suffered bullet injuries during the crackdown in Jamia Millia Islamia University on Sunday, reports The Indian Express.

7.30 am: The Supreme Court will today hear a clutch of petitions against the police crackdown on students in Delhi’s Jamia Millia Islamia and at Aligarh Muslim University.

Also read:

Crackdown on students: Supreme Court refuses urgent hearing, to take it up tomorrow

7.05 am: Authorities lift curfew in Guwahati and restore broadband services in Assam, tweets Union minister Jitendra Singh.

6.58 am: Monday was a day of protest as thousands assembled at the India Gate in New Delhi against the amended Citizenship Act and the police action against the students of Jamia Millia Islamia University and Aligarh Muslim University in Uttar Pradesh on Sunday. Demonstrations were also held in several campuses of Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Maharashtra, among other places. In West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee led a protest march against the amended law. Protests continued in some states of the North East, including Assam.