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The man fired shots in the air at the protest site in Shaheen Bagh. (Source: Twitter/ANI)
A man opened fire in Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh area, the epicentre of the anti-CAA protest. The man, who identified himself as Kapil Gujjar, fired two shots in the air at the protest site. No one was injured in the incident which occurred at around 4:53 pm. He has been taken into police custody.
Initial videos showed the man chanting ‘Jai Shree Ram‘ while being detained and saying only Hindus shall have a say in this country. “Hamare desh me aur kisi ki nahi chalegi, sirf Hindu ki chalegi (Only Hindus shall have a say in our country, no one else),” he said. The man was overpowered by locals and handed over to the police, PTI reported. Following the incident, women protesters in Shaheen Bagh formed a human chain in the backdrop of heavy police presence.
Man who opened fire in Shaheen Bagh area being whisked away by Delhi Police. https://t.co/dYPR3kFulg pic.twitter.com/fQC7VtjUoY
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal asked Home Minister Amit Shah to “focus on fixing the law and order situation” in the city. “Gun shots are being fired in broad daylight… elections will come and go, politics will also keep on going, but for the sake of the people of Delhi, please focus on fixing law and order,” he said.
अमित शाह जी, ये आपने क्या हाल बना रखा है हमारी दिल्ली का। दिनदहाड़े गोलियां चल रहीं है। कानून व्यवस्था की खुलेआम धज्जियां उड़ाई जा रही है। चुनाव आते जाते रहेंगे, राजनीति भी चलती रहेगी, लेकिन दिल्ली के लोगों की ख़ातिर, कृपया कानून व्यवस्था ठीक करने पर ध्यान दीजिए। https://t.co/sMg2BedUsJ
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) February 1, 2020
Women protesters in Shaheen Bagh formed a human chain following the firing (Express Photo: Gajendra Yadav)
The Congress said the shooter has changed but the ideology pulling the trigger in 1948 or 2020 has remained the same.
Addressing a rally in northwest Delhi’s Rohini, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath alleged that those who support terrorists in Kashmir are staging protest at Shaheen Bagh and raising slogans of ‘azadi’. Hitting out at the AAP dispensation, Adityanath said that the Arvind Kejriwal government “supplies biryani” to protesters at Shaheen Bagh.
A man opened fire in #ShaheenBagh area this evening. Here’s what the eye-witnesses had to say.#CAAProtests pic.twitter.com/BdIPHBUmqO
— InUth (@InUthdotcom) February 1, 2020
The shooting comes days after a man fired a pistol at a group of anti-CAA protesters near the Jamia Millia University, in which a student was injured. Later said to be 17 and a juvenile, the teenager brandished a gun at the protest site around 1.45 pm, and shouted slogans of “Yeh lo azadi (Here, take azadi)”, “Desh mein jo rehna hoga, Vande Mataram kehna hoga (If you want to stay in the country, you have to say Vande Mataram)” and “Dilli Police zindabad”, before he fired. The accused has been sent in 14 days police custody.
The human chain by Shaheen Bagh women protesters in the backdrop of heavy police security (Express Photo: Gajendra Yadav)
On Monday, Anurag Thakur, the Minister of State, Finance, addressing a rally for the February 8 Delhi Assembly elections, had repeatedly raised the slogan of “Desh ke gaddaron ko” as the crowd responded with “goli maaro saalon ko”.
Heavy police presence at the protest site in Shaheen Bagh (Express Photo: Gajendra Yadav)
The next day, BJP MP Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma said protesters at Shaheen Bagh could “enter homes and rape our sisters and daughters”. Thakur has been banned from campaigning for 72 hours, and Verma for 96 hours.
On the same day, an armed man entered the protest area at Shaheen Bagh and threatened the protesters to their agitation. He was, however, overpowered by other protestors and taken away from the site.
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