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2 metro stations shut as pro, anti-CAA groups clash in Delhi's Jaffrabad

February 23, 2020 19:55 IST

Clashes broke out Sunday evening between pro and anti-Citizenship Amendment Act groups near Jaffrabad in northeast Delhi where a large number of people had gathered to protest against the CAA.

IMAGE: Protesters raise slogans during a demonstration against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), National Register of Citizens (NRC) and National Population Register (NPR), at Jaffrabad, in East Delhi, on Sunday. Photograph: PTI Photo

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 as anti-CAA protests continued on Sunday after hundreds of demonstrators, mostly women, blocked a road near the metro station the previous evening.

The 500-strong group dominated by women staged a sit-in on Saturday night near the Jaffrabad metro station demanding a rollback of the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act.

IMAGE: Police personnel deployed outside Jaffrabad metro station during the protest. Photograph: PTI Photo

There was heavy security deployment in the area.

Bharatiya Janata Party leader Kapil Mishra had called a gathering near the Maujpur traffic signal in support of the amended citizenship law following which a second group had assembled in the area.

Later in the afternoon, a clash erupted between the two groups.

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."

IMAGE: An anti-CAA protest by around 500 people, mostly women, near the Jaffrabad metro station in northeast Delhi continued on Sunday, prompting the Delhi Metro authorities to close the entry and exit gates of the station. Photograph: Arun Sharma/PTI Photo

In a video tweeted by him where he can be seen addressing the gathering, Mishra said, "They (protesters) 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 stone."

"Till US President is in India, we are leaving the area peacefully. After that we won't listen to you (police) if the roads are not vacated by then," he told the gathering.

Aman Sharma, 22, a student and resident of Maujpur who was part of the group accompanying Mishra, said they were holding a protest against the closure of roads by those opposing the CAA.

IMAGE: Anti-CAA protesters block the Seelampur-Jafrabad main road during a sit-in demonstration. Photograph: Arun Sharma/PTI Photo

"At around 2.30 pm, they (anti-CAA protestors) started pelting stones and glass bottles," he claimed.

Owing to security reasons, the entry and exit gates of the Maujpur-Babarpur metro station have been closed.

'Entry & exit gates of Maujpur-Babarpur are closed,' DMRC said in a tweet.