1,246 people arrested in connection with violence during anti-CAA protests: UP Police

A total of 1,246 people have been arrested in connection with the violence which erupted across the state in the wake of the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), police said on Friday.

"1,246 people have been arrested in connection with the violence, while 5,558 people were detained during the anti-CAA protest," said the UP Police in a statement.

The statement added that a total of 372 FIRs were lodged in connection with the violence during the protests. It also said that the details of the action taken against the people for posting inflammatory posts on social media.

"125 people arrested for posting inciting content on social media. 95 FIRs have been registered under the IT Act. The action was also taken on 20,950 social media posts," the statement said.

Protests erupted in several parts of the country last week including Uttar Pradesh over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, which grants citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Parsis, Buddhists, and Christians fleeing religious persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh who came to India on or before December 31, 2014.