Jamia protests: Delhi Police registers FIR against 15 people, crime branch to probe case

New Delhi: The Delhi Police on Monday lodged an FIR against 15 people for their alleged involvement in the violent protests in Jamia area in south Delhi against the Citizenship Act, a source said. More names are likely to be added in the report if need be as the police is trying to identify the protestors via a video footage.

The FIRs have been registered at New Friends Colony (NFC) and Jamia Nagar police stations and the case has been handed over to the Crime Branch.

The protest against the Citizenship Act turned violent in New Delhi on Sunday when agitators, which reportedly included some students from Jamia Millia Islamia University, too, set ablaze four buses near NFC. At least six policemen and two fire brigade personnel were injured during the incident. Locals of the Sarai Julema in the Jamia Nagar area clashed with police. The situation turned critical when the police got into action. Several Jamia students are also said to have been injured in the clash

Speaking to the media, Chinmoy Biswal, Delhi Commissioner of Police South East, said that a mob of around 2,000 people turned violent and targeted public transport buses. 

"This mob was violent. Around 6 policemen have been injured in the stone-pelting. We are yet to ascertain the identities," Biswal said. 

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Defending the police action to resort to lathicharge on the protesters, the senior Delhi Police official said that the cops were only trying to push the mob back in order to restore law and order in the area. Biswal stressed that the police did not target any students of Jamia Millia Islamia.

On police's decision to enter Jamia Millia Islamia premises, Biswal said that the university campus is not unified and it is located on both sides of the road and when the police were trying to control the protesters many of them entered the university and started pelting stones at police. This forced the police force to enter inside the campus and check those place.

A statement issued by the Jamia Milia University said that students were not involved in the burning of buses. 

"It is done by some outsiders who want to disrupt the peace in the university and the locality around it," the university said. 

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court will on Tuesday hear a petition against police action on students of Jamia and Aligarh Muslim University in Uttar Pradesh during anti-Citizenship Act protests on Sunday. The apex court agreed to hear the petition to look into the high-handed police action against students and send retired judges to the two universities to probe what went down.