Police-student standoff in Delhi: Buses torched, metro disrupted, several injured

Protestors agitating against the amended Citizenship Act clashed with police on Sunday and set afire DTC buses and a fire tender in New Friends' Colony in southeast Delhi leaving a cop and two fire personnel injured, police said.

A Delhi Fire Services official said four fire tenders were rushed to the spot. One fire tender was completely damaged and two personnel were injured in the violence by the protesters.

Saimon Farooqui, the national secretary of Congress-affiliated National Students' Union of India, claimed the protesters were peacefully sitting on Mathura Road when policemen tried to "trouble" a couple of them, who resisted.

A Jamia Millia Islamia students' group said they had nothing to do with the arson and violence. They alleged that "local elements" joined the protest and "disrupted" it. They said they returned to campus as the protest turned violent and were protesting on the campus peacefully. Some of the protesters claimed that the police baton charged them when they were holding a peaceful agitation. Police lathicharged the protesters and used teargas, Farooqui said.

A student claimed that after the policemen used force, some protesters torched buses and indulged in vandalism. 

Soon after the violence in South Delhi during a protest against the amended Citizenship Act, police entered the Jamia Millia Islamia campus and blocked the university gates to nab some "outsiders" who had entered the premises to hide, sources said.

Both the Jamia Millia students' community as well as the Teachers' Association have disassociated themselves with the violence and arson that took place near the university Sunday afternoon.

Escorted by police, youths could be seen coming out of their hostels with their hands raised. Some of them claimed the police also entered the library and "harassed" the students. There was a heavy deployment of police in and around the campus.

"The Delhi Police has gheraoed Jamia students in the library. We do not subscribe to the bus burning incident which happened but those who did it were not from the varsity but outsiders. Innocent students are being targeted," claimed a student who did not wish to be named.

Some others alleged that students have been detained by the police, but there was no confirmation from the Delhi Police, which said they were focusing on bringing the situation under control. The sources said that as police tried to disperse the protesters by using baton change and firing teargas shells, some of the "outsiders" ran towards the campus and tried to hide there.

Jamia Millia Islamia Chief Proctor Waseem Ahmed Khan claimed on Sunday that Delhi Police personnel entered the university by force without any permission and beat up staff members and students who were forced to leave the campus.

University vice chancellor Najma Akhtar said students who were inside the library have been taken out and are safe. Akhtar condemned the police action.

Hours after violence rocked south Delhi on Sunday, police said the situation was under control and they have detained some of the people who had allegedly indulged in arson and vandalism during a protest against the amended citizenship law.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast) Chinmoy Biswal said four buses and two police vehicles were torched during the protest, adding six policemen were also injured.

He said stones were pelted from inside the varsity at police personnel, forcing them to use teargas to disperse the "violent mob".

Biswal said some people have been detained but did not give details.