Delhi: As Darya Ganj goes from calm to chaotic, police station, hospital turn nerve centres

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A 14-year-old from Bihar, who was visiting his family in Delhi and was on his way to see the Red Fort, was among the injured. He claimed he got caught in the protests and was hit on the head during stone pelting and then injured in a stampede.

Nearby, Ashok, a constable from Darya Ganj police station, said, “I was standing in a line with other officers, trying to douse the fire in a car that had been set ablaze. As we tried to remove protesters, they charged at us. Many locals got injured in the stampede; a group of protesters were pelting stones and pushing us. I was wearing a helmet but one stone hit my face and I fell.”

Ground zero

At Delhi Gate, barely a kilometre away, there was chaos as families of those detained and lawyers stood outside the Darya Ganj police station, scrambling for information. Several minors were among those detained.

Read | At India Gate and Jamia Campus, protests are alive

Mohd. Amir’s family received a text at 8.20 pm from him which just read “Darya Ganj”. Panicked relatives rushed from Subhash Nagar to Delhi Gate. “He had stopped at Jama Masjid for the evening namaz. We don’t know what happened during the violence but we know he had nothing to do with it. He is not there at the hospital and we don’t know if he is inside the station. All we want is his safety,” said Mohd. Akram, a relative.

Messages meanwhile were circulated on social media and WhatsApp calling for lawyers to gather at the police station, and a group reached by 9 pm even though entry was barred.

Protesters set a car on fire during their protest against CAA at Delhi Gate in New Delhi on Friday. EXPRESS PHOTO BY PRAVEEN KHANNA

Tara Narula, a lawyer who was allowed inside, said that there were 32 persons detained. “There are two doctors tending to the injured inside. I was told by police that no minors have been detained and they are only waiting for family members of the boys to come and pick them up. We are facilitating their release,” she said.

Amna, the mother of 24-year-old Akram, who she couldn’t trace, said: “He called me around 6 pm claiming he was being taken by police. He is not in the hospital, so he must inside. Many have been picked up while returning after namaz.”

Earlier in the day

The scenes were a stark contrast to the afternoon, when some protesters outside Jama Masjid were handing roses to police personnel. Even though slogans against the new citizenship law were raised, the gathering remained peaceful.

Among those on the steps of the grand mosque was Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad. He was surrounded by protesters holding pictures of Ambedkar and Gandhi and waving the tricolour as they chanted “kaala kanoon wapis lo”.

Among those on the steps of the grand mosque was Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad.

Resident Mohd. Aslam said, “This is a way to divert attention from matters such as unemployment. They said a lot of things when they came to power; now where is sabka saath sabka vikas?”

Most condemned the new legislation, as they feared it would be used to push them out of the country when a National Register of Citizens is implemented. “The issue now concerns people’s homes. If we don’t come out on the streets with our own wish today, we will be compelled against our wish to come out tomorrow,” said Mohd. Umair Siddiqui (18), who works at a shoe shop near Jama Masjid.

Harpreet Singh, a resident of Mukherjee Nagar, who was at the protest, said. “If we don’t come here and support this cause today, it can happen to us tomorrow.”

The crowd started leaving for Delhi Gate around 3 pm, and was about to disperse around 5 pm when trouble started. Police have maintained people from outside the area, predominantly Seelampur, were the ones who indulged in violence, including setting a constable’s car on fire.

Additional DCP (northeast) R P Meena confirmed that over 2,000 protesters had moved from Seelampur and Jaffrabad areas to Delhi Gate.

Randhawa said that the group from outside insisted on walking towards India Gate or Jantar Mantar and were told not to. “We spoke to their leaders but the protesters didn’t listen to them either,” he said.

Around 5 pm, announcements were made from a nearby mosque through which an activist appealed to people to start returning. At 5.30 pm, police received information on wireless that a crowd from Northeast Delhi was heading their way.

RAF and police officials were deployed at barricades outside the DCP office and water cannons were brought closer. Around 5.50 pm, plastic bottles and stones were hurled from the side of the protesters towards security officials. Amid the clashes, as several people ran inside the lanes of Darya Ganj, police could be seen running after them with lathis and dragging them out.