Seelampur violence: 6 arrested; Section 144 imposed in Delhi's North East district

New Delhi, Dec 18: The Delhi Police has arrested six people in connection with the violence that ensued in Seelampur following protests over the Citizenship Amendment Act. Raids are also being conducted to apprehend some other people who have also been identified.

Delhi Police had filed two FIRs in connection with the violence in Jaffrabad under the Indian Penal Code sections for rioting and damaging public property. Five people were detained and their backgrounds were being checked by the police. One FIR was also registered in Brijpuri under relevant IPC sections for stone-pelting.

Meanwhile, Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) has been imposed in North East district of Delhi, prohibiting the assembly of more than four people in the area.

Twenty-one people, including 12 policemen, were injured in the violence that erupted during a protest against the amended citizenship law in Delhi's Seelampur and Jafrabad areas on Tuesday, police said. Three Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel were also injured, an officer said.

The cases have been registered under several sections of Indian Penal Code (IPC), including rioting, damaging of public property and use of criminal force against a public servant in order to deter him from discharging his duty.

Angry protestors torched three motor bikes, pelted stones at police personnel and damaged three buses and two police booths in the violence. A mobile toilet was also set on fire. Eight CCTV cameras installed in and around a booth in the Seelampur area were taken away by protestors. A LED TV, which was installed inside the booth for monitoring feed from the cameras , was also taken away by the protestors, the officer said. The officer said people were holding a protest march and it was peaceful till noon, but it turned violent when around 3,000 people joined it.

"We requested them to go back at Seelampur T-point. Protestors ignored our repeated requests and they resorted to stone-pelting. We had to use tear gas to disperse the crowd," he said.

Police said that protestors resorted to arson and damaged public properties. The clashes erupted two days after violence broke out during a protest in the New Friends area in South Delhi near Jamia Millia Islamia. A large number of policemen had deployed as tension prevailed in Seelampur and adjoining areas following the violence.