Amid violent protests against the new legislation, Citizenship Amendment act, the national capital has been put on high alert on Friday. Security outside Uttar Pradesh Bhawan in New Delhi has been tightened in view of the protests planned by students of Jamia Millia Islamia. A protest has been organized by group of Jamia students against Yogi Adityanath government over the 22 deaths during anti-citizenship law protests in the state.
As per the Jamia Coordination Committee, the Yogi Adityanath government is “firing bullets” on the protesters agitating against the new citizenship law.
Section 144 has been imposed in the area of UP Bhawan near Chanakyapuri in New Delhi. Delhi police have also urged people not to participate in any demonstrations that may possibly turn violent. The cops in the national capital have also put up banner asking people to refrain from indulging in protests and staging demonstrations outside the Uttar Pardesh Bhawan as prohibitory orders are in place.
Meanwhile, the Uttar Pradesh government has shut the internet services across 21 districts including Ghaziabad, Agra, Saharanpur, Bijnor and Firozabad. Other parts of the state where the internet services are affected are – Bulandshahar, Muzaffarnagar, Sambhal, and Aligarh.
Earlier, the Lucknow district administration served notices to 100 people regarding the violent protests in the state capital last week. Those served notices were identified on the basis of the CCTV and video footage of the violence. The district magistrate has set up a four-member committee to oversee the entire process which will be completed in 30 days after which property attachment will begin.
In Rampur, notices have been issued to 28 people who have been identified for violence during the protests. The authorities have pegged the worth of damage to property at Rs 25 lakh here. “They have been given seven days’ time to respond why action should not be taken against them, failing which, proceedings will be initiated to recover money from them for destruction of public and private property,” District Magistrate Aunjaneya Singh said.
In Meerut, the worth of property damaged was assessed at Rs 14 lakh and investigations blamed 141 people for it.
District magistrate Anil Dhingra said that more names may be added to the list as the investigation is still underway.
In Gorakhpur, notices have been sent to 33 people allegedly involved in violence during the anti-CAA protest. Police said FIRs against 1,000 unidentified people have also been registered. Pictures of people allegedly involved in violence have been pasted in the city and rewards for informers have been announced.
Recovery notices have also been served in the Sambhal and Bijnor districts where the worth of damage to public property was pegged at Rs 15 lakh and Rs 19.7 lakh respectively. The Sambhal district administration has issued notices to 26 whereas in the Nehtaur town of Bijnor, notices have been issued to 43 rioters for damaging public properties worth Rs 19.7 lakh.
It may be recalled that Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had stated that protesters who vandalized public property during demonstrations against the CAA will have to pay for the damage. According to a senior government official, more than 300 people have been served show-cause notices in this connection across the state.