Anti-CAA stir: Clashes erupt in UP’s Rampur; one dead; police post torched in Kanpur

In fresh incidents of protests against Citizenship Amendment Act in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday, one person was killed and several others, including children, were injured in Rampur during the clash between the police and the protesters. In Kanpur, a police post was torched.

The death toll during anti-CAA protests in UP in the last two days has climbed to 15. around 11 people were reported killed during anti-CAA protests in Meerut, Bijnor and Muzaffarnagar, allegedly in police firing.

In Rampur, five two-wheelers, including one of a mediaperson and one of the police, and a car were set afire during the violence and five protesters were injured in police lathicharge, officials said.

"Of the five injured, four were referred to Meerut for treatment where one died, while another is in a serious condition. Around a dozen protestors have been detained," District Magistrate Aunjaneya Singh told PTI.

Around 400 to 500 people gathered near the city Eidgah to protest against the amended Citizenship Act amid a bandh call, he said.

"Over a dozen policemen also suffered minor injuries during stone pelting by protesters, including children aged between 12 and 18 years," Singh said.

Another dozen protesters suffered minor injuries in tear gas shelling by the police, he added.

A bandh call was given by the anti-CAA protesters in Rampur on Saturday even as section 144 of the CrPC, which bars assembly of people, is in force in the region and the internet remains suspended.

In Kanpur, the anti-CAA protestors set Yatimkhana police post on fire and indulged in heavy brick batting, leading to injury to some people.

Police had to lob tear gas shells and use canes to chase them away, and fire tenders were rushed to control the flame.

ADG (Kanpur) Prem Prakash said Rapid Action Force has been called out along with 'Vajr' vehicles to control the situation.

Samajwadi Party MLA Amitabh Bajpai and former party MLA Kamlesh Tewari were arrested as a precautionary measure and their vehicles seized.

Officials said crowds gathered in areas like Babupurva, Nai Sadak, Moolganj, Dalelpurva and Haleem College and police in large numbers was deployed to keep a watch over the situation.

As many as 705 persons were arrested for committing substantive offences and 4,500 were detained across the state amid incidents of protests against the CAA in several districts including Rampur and Aligarh, IG (Law and Order) Praveen Kumar said on Saturday.

The number of policemen injured were 263 of whom 57 received firearm injuries, he said.

Across the state, 405 empty cases of bullets were recovered from the protest sites, which "prima facie hints that how unruly elements were firing at the police. As many as 15 persons have lost their lives since Thursday", Kumar said.

Maintaining that the police did not open fire, Director General of Police O.P. Singh said, "Women and children were used as shields by the protestors." "All the deaths that took place have been in cross firing and this will become clear in post-mortem examination," the DGP told reporters.

"We are clear and transparent in this. If anyone died due to our fire, we will conduct a judicial inquiry and take action. But nothing happened from our side," the DGP stressed.

IG Kumar said 102 persons have been arrested for making objectionable remarks and posting objectionable content on various social media platforms.

"So far action has been taken against 14,101 social media posts. This includes 5,965 Twitter posts; 7,995 Facebook (accounts) and 141 Youtube."