Jamia Millia Live Updates: Police entered campus by force, staff and students are being beaten up.
After the violence this afternoon, a Jamia students' body issued a statement, saying, "We have time and again maintained that our protests are peaceful and nonviolent. We stand by this approach and condemn any party involved in the violence."
Sunday, ablaze:
Protestors agitating against the amended Citizenship Act clashed with police on Sunday and set afire three public buses and a fire tender in New Friends' Colony in southeast Delhi, leaving a cop and two fire personnel injured, police said.
The trouble started during a protest by students of Jamia Millia Islamia. But a students' body later said they had nothing to do with the violence and arson, alleging that "certain elements" joined and "disrupted" the demonstration.
The protesters torched buses with at least three of them being damaged completely and a fire tender also damaged, police said.
An eyewitness claimed that protestors took out petrol from a motorcycle and used it to torch the buses. Protesters claimed that the police baton-charged them and used teargas shells when they were holding a peaceful protest.
A Delhi Fire Services official said four fire tenders were rushed to the spot. One of them was completely damaged and two personnel were injured, he said.
Plumes of smoke billowed from the torched buses as firemen tried to douse the blaze.
Jamia students have been protesting against the legislation. However, on Saturday evening, they had called off their university lockdown and declared they would hold peaceful protest.
After the violence this afternoon, a Jamia students' body issued a statement, saying, "We have time and again maintained that our protests are peaceful and nonviolent. We stand by this approach and condemn any party involved in the violence.
"We have maintained calm even when students have been lathicharged and some women protestors badly beaten up. Media personnel are a witness to these events. Violence by certain elements is an attempt to vilify and discredit genuine protests," the statement said.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said any kind of violence is unacceptable and protests should remain peaceful.
The protest was being held against the contentious law which seeks to provide citizenship to non-Muslims religious minorities from three neighbouring countries who arrived in India to escape religious persecution.
According to Saimon Farooqui, the national secretary of Congress-affiliated National Students' Union of India, the protesters were peacefully sitting on Mathura Road when policemen tried to "trouble" a couple of protesters, who resisted.
Thereafter, the police lathicharged the protesters and used teargas, he alleged.
The clash disrupted traffic in the area with several vehicles stranded on roads for hours.
The Delhi Traffic Police said in a tweet that the vehicular movement was closed from Okhla Underpass to Sarita Vihar due to the agitation. Vehicles coming from Badarpur and Ashram Chowk were diverted to alternative routes due to the blockade.
Entry, exit gates of four metro stations in South Delhi closed:
The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) closed the entry and exit gates of the Sukhdev Vihar Metro station on Sunday evening in view of the violent protest in southeast Delhi against the amended Citizenship Act.
"As advised by Delhi Police, entry & exit gates of Sukhdev Vihar and gate no. 3 of Ashram have been closed. Trains will not be halting at Sukhdev Vihar," the DMRC tweeted.
Entry and exit gates of Jamia Millia Islamia, Okhla Vihar and Jasola Vihar Shaheen Bagh have also been closed with no trains halting at these stations.
Jamia Teachers' Association appealed to the students to keep away from such "direction-less" protest led by "local political leaders".
"Jamia practices and preaches peace. JTA condemns all sort of violence near Jamia or anywhere in India," it said in a statement.
It said an emergency meeting of extended Executive Committee has been called in the JTA office on Monday to "discuss the misuse of Jamia's name in the protests."
The BJP on Sunday blamed the Aam Aadmi Party for the violence in south Delhi area and demanded that it stop "provoking people", but the AAP denied it.
BJP Delhi chief Manoj Tiwari, in a tweet, said that an AAP MLA was "provoking" the public and called Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal a "traitor".
"An AAP MLA is provoking people at the behest of Arvind Kejriwal. The Muslims of the country are with India and are not going to be influenced by traitors like you. Stop provoking people. The people of Delhi will teach AAP traitors a lesson. The sin of AAP is being exposed," he tweeted in Hindi.
However, Okhla MLA Amanatullah Khan, who is apparently the MLA alluded to by Tiwari, denied the accusations.
"Some TV channels have run the news that protesters under my leadership have torched buses, which is wrong. I protested near Shaheen Bagh where nothing untoward happened," he told reporters.
BJP leader Kapil Mishra likened the violence to the Godhra attacks and accused the AAP government of being behind it. He also said that the violence was not less than a terror attack.
"This is a terrorist attack. Setting afire a bus which has a CNG cylinder means that there was a conspiracy for a big blast. What do you call this if not a terrorist attack? This fire was started by Amanatullah Khan. They are readying to repeat Godhra incident in Delhi," he said.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal appeals for peace, says “No one should indulge in violence. Any kind of violence is unacceptable. Protests should remain peaceful.” (file pic) pic.twitter.com/OPAd1xHNUv
— ANI (@ANI) December 15, 2019
Inside Jamia campus Delhi police - got this on whatsapp @Shehla_Rashid @ravishndtv@jagritysablok1 @ReallySwara @RichaChadha
— Hari Raghunath (@haritude) December 15, 2019
@MaheshNBhatt @UmarKhalidJNU
@pathan_sumaya
@Nehr_who
@khanumarfa
@asadowaisi
@VinodDua7 @Telegraph pic.twitter.com/QjIrxVRkIT
Violence near Jamia is condemnable. It's not perpetrated by the students who have been protesting peacefully even in the face of batons, teargas and beating by the Delhi Police.
— Faisal Raza (@onelife_99) December 15, 2019
Please share the statement. pic.twitter.com/AxzMtQyVY6
Central Library, Jamia Millia Islamia. Police brutality. They've broken windows and tear gassed students #Jamia #CAA2019 pic.twitter.com/ry9H9trJn9
— . (@Kyrptonite2) December 15, 2019
Delhi: Police detains protesters from outside Jamia Millia Islamia University's Gate no. 1. #CitizenshipAmendmentAct pic.twitter.com/zAXSSAvMbf
— ANI (@ANI) December 15, 2019
Delhi Police enters Jamia Millia Islamia campus, blocks university gates: university official
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) December 15, 2019
I was at Jamia Millia Islamia today and those kids were lit. Not one was violent.
— Puram (@puram_politics) December 15, 2019
Shame on you, Delhi Police. pic.twitter.com/2Th3aB6zsi
Jamia students are reaching out for help as Delhi Police has entered #JamiaMilia campus and are allegedly harassing & beating them. #CitizenshipAmendmentAct
— Poonam Agarwal (@poonamjourno) December 15, 2019
Police brutality inside Jamia library #JamiaProtest #PoliceState @imMAK02 @brumbyoz @DearthOfSid pic.twitter.com/t02rwYkZtU
— Faisal Rizwan (@faisalrizwan789) December 15, 2019
Delhi is on fire. Where in the world is the home minister @AmitShah #CAA
— Swati Chaturvedi (@bainjal) December 15, 2019
Asiaville spoke to Delhi Police's Public Relations Office, seeking a statement on the allegations that Delhi Police have entered Jamia Millia hostels and are firing tear gas upon students trapped in the library.
The office responded saying a statement was not ready as yet.
Waseem Ahmed Khan, Chief Proctor, Jamia Millia Islamia University: Police have entered the campus by force, no permission was given. Our staff and students are being beaten up and forced to leave the campus. pic.twitter.com/VvkFWtia1G
— ANI (@ANI) December 15, 2019
Another video of #JamiaMilia Central Library.
— Md Asif Khan آصِف (@imMAK02) December 15, 2019
Female students stuck inside, trying to save themselves from the tear gas firing.
Shame on you Delhi Police. #CABProtests #CABBill2019
2/npic.twitter.com/MVWXlgr3vV
Police don't belong in universities.
— Radhika ????️????✊???? (@so_radhikal) December 15, 2019
Police don't belong in universities.
Police don't belong in universities.
Police don't belong in universities.
Police don't belong in universities.
Police don't belong in universities.
Police don't belong in universities.
Footage from the library at Jamia:
Shame on you @DelhiPolice You’re burning Buses yourself and blaming it on Students of Jamia Milila. This is terrorism of Delhi Police. @LtGovDelhi @CPDelhi @AJEnglish @BBCHindi #DelhiPoliceGundaGardi pic.twitter.com/g4nyVfbUId
— United Against Hate (@UAH_India) December 15, 2019
Insta stories from my friend inside the Jamia campus.
— Aryan(@aryansri971@mstdn.social) (@aryansrivastav_) December 15, 2019
They have sealed the campus. 2 deaths till now, they're beating the disabled students and not letting anyone out. pic.twitter.com/GvK9DJATYU
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has accused the opposition of instigating the violence across the country. He claims people "who are creating violence can be identified by their clothes itself".
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Dumka, Jharkhand: Congress & their allies are creating a ruckus. They are doing arson because they did not get their way. Those who are creating violence can be identified by their clothes itself. https://t.co/UDb7gDJg6S
— ANI (@ANI) December 15, 2019
Multiple journalists have reported violence by the police while covering the Jamia incident.
Bushra Sheikh, Journalist: I came here for BBC's coverage, they (police) took away my phone,broke it.A male police personnel pulled my hair.They hit me with a baton&when I asked them for my phone they hurled abuses at me.I didn't come here for fun,I came here for coverage https://t.co/x7GpU6flfd pic.twitter.com/pB8ph94WW9
— ANI (@ANI) December 15, 2019
This goes in sync with the recent events in Guwahati where leading news channel of Assam Prag News' office was allegedly stormed by security forces and the staff were beaten up.
Leading news channel of Assam Prag News' office in Guwahati was stormed by security forces and staff beaten up. Is this democracy?
— Manimugdha Sharma (@quizzicalguy) December 12, 2019
The Editors Guild of India has issued a statement pic.twitter.com/WZEs8E7tVx
— Editors Guild of India (@IndEditorsGuild) December 14, 2019
Renowned journalist Neha Dixit has tweeted that there are protests outside Delhi Police headquarters at ITO in Delhi to demand the withdrawal of police personnel from Jamia campus and stop the violence against students.
Protests outside @DelhiPolice headquarters at ITO in Delhi to demand withdrawal of police personnel from Jamia campus and stop the violence against students. #JamiaProtestsCAB pic.twitter.com/SzTbBaLz6M
— Neha Dixit (@nehadixit123) December 15, 2019
Meanwhile, there are accusations flying in that lawyers are not being allowed to interact with the student clients
.
I'm at Kalkaji Police Station right now. Kabir Ali Zia Choudhari, a lawyer who has been at the spot for at least 1.5 hours, is saying that lawyers are not being allowed in to interact with his student clients, at least 20 have been brought here, some with injuries. pic.twitter.com/yB1UrerSSm
— Angshukanta (@angshukanta) December 15, 2019
Violence erupted in @GautamGambhir's very own constituency. Students are being shot at by police.
— Abhijeet Dipke (@abhijeet_dipke) December 15, 2019
But Gambhir has no time to be there for his people as he is in Chennai for commentary. #BJPburningDelhi #INDvsWESTIND #Jamia pic.twitter.com/urktP2vryE
More visuals coming in from multiple sources of the alleged police brutality.
A post shared by JAMIA MILLIA ISLAMIA (@diary_of_jamian) on Dec 15, 2019 at 8:37am PST
ये हैं दिल्ली पुलिस के मर्द पुलिस वाले!
— Umashankar Singh उमाशंकर सिंह (@umashankarsingh) December 15, 2019
आपको सैल्यूट है।
सैल्यूट करने का #emoji नहीं मिल रहा। pic.twitter.com/lnSjQ6xzbQ