Violence erupted in Northeast Delhi’s Maujpur on Monday, a day after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kapil Mishra gave an ultimatum to the police to clear out anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protesters from the streets in the area.
Clashes broke out for the second consecutive day as pro and anti-CAA agitators reportedly pelted stones at each other. Police fired tear gas shells to disperse the protesters. US President Donald Trump, who is currently is Agra, is expected to reach the city soon.
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Stone-pelting incidents were reported near Maujpur Babarpur metro station, according to The Indian Express. The report also said that some vehicles were set on fire in Yamuna Vihar and at least two vehicles and a fire tender were torched in Jaffrabad and Maujpur. Violence was also reported from the Chandbagh area in Jaffrabad, according to PTI.
Prohibitory orders were imposed in ten localities of Northeast Delhi. Delhi Police told PTI that a head constable has died during the clashes.
Scroll reporter Vijayta Lalwani tweeted a short video that showed men with lathis cheering, saying that she had witnessed pro-CAA protesters setting a shop on fire at Maujpur Chowk.
As the situation remained tense, Mishra appealed for calm. “Stop the violence,” he tweeted, just minutes after asking the police to forcefully remove the anti-CAA protesters from the streets of Chandbagh and Jaffrabad.
His tweet comes a day after he led a rally in Maujpur area, near Jaffrabad, in favour of the CAA. He also gave a three-day ultimatum to the Delhi Police to clear the road in the area.
“Three days’ ultimatum for Delhi Police, clear the roads in Jaffrabad and Chandbagh. After this, don’t make us understand. We won’t listen to you. Only three days,” the BJP leader tweeted in Hindi.
In an earlier tweet on Sunday, Mishra had asked people to gather at Maujpur Chowk in support of the CAA, as a reply to the roadblock by those protesting against the new citizenship law. Women have been holding a peaceful sit-in protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act in Jaffrabad since Saturday.
As over 200 people gathered in the area, Mishra was heard raising slogans of “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” and “Jai Shri Ram”, according to The Indian Express. The report added that people responded with “Desh ke gaddaron ko, goli maaro saalon ko”, the same slogan Mishra has used in earlier rallies in support of the citizenship law.
“They want to cut off 35 lakh people by blocking the roads. Is this the way to protest against anything? We will not allow the area to be turned into Shaheen Bagh,” Mishra said, according to PTI.
Clashes also broke out on Sunday between pro and anti-CAA groups near Jaffrabad, a little after Mishra’s rally. Police fired tear gas shells as the groups pelted stones at each other in Maujpur, according to PTI.
Locals told The Indian Express that violence began almost immediately after the BJP leader left the area.
Mishra, who lost from the Model Town constituency in the Delhi Assembly elections by over 11,000 votes, took out pro-CAA rallies in December last year. In one such march on 20 December, a video of him shouting “desh ke gaddaron ko” surfaced on social media. Mishra refused to apologise.
Even Home Minister Amit Shah recently admitted that hate remarks such as “goli maaro” should not have been made and may have resulted in the BJP’s defeat in Delhi.
(With PTI inputs)