As the nationwide anti-CAA agitations continue, 23 protestors have died so far. To control the violent protests, the government imposed a ban on public assembly and suspended internet services in many cities across India on several occasions.
1) It All Started With Jamia
The Jamia Millia Islamia University turned into a battlefield on December 15 between police and students when protesters marched towards the Parliament House agitating against the Citizenship Amendment Act. The clash resulted in fifty students being detained.
Some students were baton-charged by police personnel and also alleged that the police resorted to stone-pelting. Police used tear gas to quell the demonstration.
The situation went from worsened with the students claiming that the police laid siege to the campus. Students said windows of the library were smashed and around 50-60 students were inside when police officers gheraoed it.
According to the students, the police cornered people inside the library, broke CCTV cameras, lined up students and started beating them. They also broke student’s phones and cameras. The police allegedly used tear gas shells inside the library.
2) Women Led Agitation
Women became the centre of the protest as they chanted slogans — “Delhi Police, go back” and confronted the officials who tried to approach them, dressed in riot gear.
Ladeeda Sakhaloon and Aysha Renna of Jamia university became a symbol of resistance against the police brutality when a video of them protecting a colleague against police lathi charge went viral.
Three activist-lawyers of Quill foundation who visited Aligarh Muslim University have come up with a report on the police crackdown on students, claiming that the security forces fired tear gas, rubber bullets and grenades at a “peaceful” protest against the new citizenship law.
Delhi-based advocates Aman Khan and Fazal Abdali, of the Human Rights Law Network, and Fawaz Shaheen of Quill Foundation claimed the police and the Rapid Action Force personnel also resorted to firing explosives camouflaged as tear gas shells.
Reportedly #AMU is now under police attack in #Aligarh of UP. Agitation by #JNU #DU students and civil society members is going on right now at midnight (12 am) at #ITO before Delhi police headquarter against what has happened in #JMI earlier today during #ProtestAgainstCAA pic.twitter.com/yC56BMEXHv
— J.A Siddiqui (@ja_siddiqui) December 15, 2019
4) Police Action In UP
As Uttar Pradesh burns over the controversial CAA, at least 18 people, including an 8-year-old boy, died as protests turned violent on Friday, December 20.
According to officials, four deaths were reported from Meerut district and two from Kanpur and the boy was killed in a stampede in Varanasi when policemen chased a violent mob.
This is from Varanasi, Modi’s constituency.
See the Police brutality against Anti-CAA protesters. #CAA_NRC_Protest #CAA_NRCProtests #YogiMustResign pic.twitter.com/FfCDPFqkXk
— Md Asif Khan آصِف (@imMAK02) December 24, 2019
A total of 5,400 people have been taken arrested so far and around 705 have been sent to jail. The government is also expected to invoke the National Security Act (NSA) against 250 agitators.
5) Mangaluru Police Attacks Hospital
The Karnataka police in Mangaluru on December 19, barged into a hospital and were seen breaking doors and hitting an ICU door.
The CCTV footage from the Highland Hospital in Mangaluru shows two police personnel rushing through a corridor and trying to get into the hospital’s intensive care unit.
Some more police personnel can be seen joining them and trying to break open the doors using lathis and shields.
