The previous week witnessed three incidents of firing amidst the anti-CAA protests in JMI and Shaheen Bagh. The first incidence took place on January 30, around 2 pm when a miscreant opened fire at people protesting near the JMI University, injuring a varsity student, Shadaab who was consequently rushed to AIIMS.
The witnesses claimed that the shooter screamed “ye lo azaadi” before firing and despite the area being surrounded by police, none intervened to disarm the attacker.
The Delhi Police arrested Gopal and has registered an attempt to murder charge against him.
On February 3, around 4:53 pm, another man fired two shots in the air at Shaheen Bagh near the anti-CAA protest site. While no protester was hurt, the witnesses recounted the attacker shouting “Hindu Rashtra Zindabad” before firing.
The shooter identified himself as Kapil Gujjar and denied being associated with any group. He could be heard saying “jai Sri Ram” and ” hamare desh me Kisi ki nahi chalegi sirf hinduo ki chalegi” as the police proceeded to arrest him. On 2nd Feb, he was sent to police remand for two days by the court.
On February 2, around 11:30 pm, two unidentified men opened fire outside gate no.5 of JMI. No one was injured and as per the witnesses, one of the shooters was wearing a red jacket and was driving a red scooty having vehicle no. 1532 or 1534. Following the incidence, a large crowd gathered at gate no.7 late at night to join the on-going 24/7 protest and later proceeded to Shaheen Bagh.
The police said that they were verifying the accounts of witnesses. On that basis, an FIR had also been registered and a team would be sent to collect CCTV footage from Gate no. 5 and 7.
Zainab Wahab
Department of English, Jamia Millia Islamia
