An unidentified person on Saturday opened fire in Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh, where a protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) has continued for nearly two months. There were no reports of injuries.
The gunman was taken into police custody. The man allegedly shouted “Jai Sri Ram” as he fired shots standing near police barricades put up in the locality, according to NDTV.
Delhi DCP Chinmay Biswal told ANI, “The man had resorted to aerial firing. Police immediately overpowered and caught him.”
This incident comes just days after a man wielding a gun opened fire at an anti-CAA protest outside the Jamia Millia Islamia University in New Delhi, injuring a student.
A group of ministers and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders in recent days has tried hard to discredit the protesters at Shaheen Bagh. During a campaign for the Delhi elections, Home Minister Amit Shah said that people should press the EVM button on 8 February with such anger that the protesters in Shaheen Bagh “feel the current”.
Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath took a sexist dig at the protesters. He asked why the men of Shaheen Bagh were “sleeping under the quilt while women have been pushed forward”.