Early morning on Thursday, Delhi Police led by senior officers reached North Delhi’s Turkman Gate to evict women protesting against the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act. Police razed the tents and detained around 7 people. The detainees have been taken to Rajinder Nagar Police Station. A team of young lawyers have reached the Police station to assist the detainees.
This follows the Delhi High Court of Tuesday, when the court refused to pass any order on a plea seeking a direction to the police to withdraw the closure of the Kalindi Kunj-Shaheen Bagh stretch, saying that police has all the powers to do the same. Following which police is making attempts to evict the protesters from occupying the roads in many parts of Delhi-NCR.
On Wednesday early in the morning, the Delhi Police led by senior officers reached Khureji to disperse the women on a similar sit-in protest. Over a thousand people on Tuesday gathered in East Delhi’s Khureji neighborhood to protest against the amended citizenship law and a possible pan-India National Register of Citizens.
Locals alleged that the Police cut off the electricity supply to the area at around 3:00 AM and asked the peaceful protesters to leave. They also alleged that Police reached the protest site only to persuade the locals after the High Court refused to intervene and they allegedly brought down the tents, destroyed the protest site forcefully in the stealth of the night. The Police led by Additional DCP, South East, Amit Sharma, allegedly left the place after locals turned on their mobile phones and flashlights.
The Delhi Police have said it has initiated a dialogue with those holding a sit-in at Shaheen Bagh, Khureji and other places. However, the organisers alleged that the High Court order was misinterpreted by a section of the media and Police as the order directed the Delhi Police to clear the protesters.
Inspired by Shaheen Bagh’s protest, around 300 women were on a sit-in protest since Monday. The women were joined by local men, students and activists. The idea of Shaheen Bagh has spread to other parts of the country as well. Similar protests have been organised in Allahabad, Gaya, Patna, in Hyderabad, Kolkata among others.