Seemapuri: 11 Held for Anti-CAA Protests, Sent to 14-Day Custody
The protests at Daryaganj and Seemapuri turned violent and went on till late on Friday.
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Video Editor: Purnendu Pritam
Things took a violent turn in East Delhi's Seempauri on Friday, 20 December, during protests against the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) 2019.
The police have filed an FIR the against eleven protesters under Sections including 307 (attempt to murder) and 148 (rioting with deadly weapons), 353 (assault on public servant), 332 (deterring public servant from performing official duty), 147 (rioting) and 149 (unlawful assembly). They have been sent to judicial custody for 14 days.
The FIR claims that the police was attacked by protesters and Additional DCP Rohit Rajbir Singh was injured in the same.
Amid the chaos, several people were detained and beaten up, lawyer Choudhary Ali Zia Kabir told the The Quint.
“The police has detained a lot of people, we don’t have an exact number, but it came down to about 17 on Friday,” said Kabir.
The national capital reeled under massive traffic jams due to multiple protests on Friday against the amended Citizenship Act, with thousands of people hitting the streets forcing police to put restrictions on vehicle movements in several areas.
The protests at Daryaganj and Seemapuri however, turned violent and went on till late night, especially with many protesters waiting outside the police headquarters, demanding the release of the detainees.
‘People Picked Up From Homes, Shops’
The lawyer claimed that the people were picked up from their homes, shops and localities, adding that among the detainees there was a minor as well.
“The advocate reached there about 7 pm and other activists. After sustained requests, they let go the minor around 10:30-11.”
Kabir said that his team continually requested the police to disclose the names of the detainees, but they did not.
He added that they requested the police to provide first-aid to the injured, but the police kept diverting with excuses.
“We also drafted complaints to the police - missing person complaint, which also they refused. They released 2-3 people. Rest, they refused to take complaints on their behalf,” he continued.
Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Orders Were ‘Not Followed’
Kabir said, “At around 3:30, lawyers went to the chief metropolitan magistrate, under whose jurisdiction the police station falls. We were forced to disturb a judicial officer at 4 am in the morning.”
At 4:30, he stated, the honourable Chief Metropolitan Magistrate passed an order to poilce officers.
- Disclose the list of all people who have been detained.
- Allow them to meet their families, provide urgent medical attention to those who require it.
- Provide a copy of the FIR to the family of the detainees and the lawyers.
- Allow the advocates, lawyers to meet those who are detained for at least 15 minutes.
However, he claimed that the police did not abide by any of these orders.
He further stated that the police gave them the FIR number but not the copy or sections under which the FIR was registered.
“My understanding is that they are not letting us meet the detainees is because they have beaten them up very badly,” he added.
Meanwhile, amid the unrest on Friday in Seemapuri, the additional deputy commissioner of police of Shahdara, Rajbir Singh suffered a minor head injury due to stone pelting, PTI reported.
Roads leading to Jama Masjid, Daryaganj, Delhi Gate, India Gate, Jantar Mantar, Jamia Millia Islamia, Seelampur, Seemapuri, Jafrabad and Jantar Mantar were put under traffic restrictions for several hours to check the movement of demonstrators.
(With inputs from PTI)
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