Clash erupts between pro & anti CAA groups in Jaffrabad area

Clashes broke out Sunday evening between pro and anti-CAA groups near Jaffrabad in northeast Delhi which was gripped by tension when a large number of people who have been protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act blocked a road.

Police fired tear gas shells as members of the two groups pelted stones at each other in Maujpur. For security reasons, the entry and exit gates of the Maujpur-Babarpur metro station were closed.

Gates of the Jaffrabad station were also closed earlier in the day and a large number of security personnel deployed as hundreds of demonstrators, mostly women, blocked a road near the metro station since the Saturday evening, demanding a rollback of the contentious act.

BJP leader Kapil Mishra too had called a gathering near the Maujpur traffic signal, demanding that the police remove anti-CAA protestors within three days.

Later in the afternoon, a clash erupted between the two groups which blamed each other for starting the violence.

Delhi Police personnel stopped the pro-CAA protestors when they tried to march towards Kardampuri where another anti-CAA protest was on.

"We are trying to identify the people behind the incident," Joint Commissioner of Police (Eastern Range) Alok Kumar told reporters.

The situation is under control now, a senior police official said.

"We are continuously speaking to local leaders so that peace prevails in the area and are also requesting protesters to clear the main road," he said.

He added that police personnel have been deployed at Maujpur area to prevent any untoward incident.

Taking to Twitter, Mishra said, "We have given a three-day ultimatum to the Delhi Police to get the road cleared. Get the Jafrabad and Chandbagh road cleared."
In a video tweeted by him in which is addressing the gathering, Mishra said, "They (protestors) want to create trouble in Delhi, that's why they have closed the roads. That's why they have created a riot-like situation here. We have not pelted any stones."