A group of anti-CAA protestors, who have been on a sit-in at Gandhi Park in south Delhi's Hauz Rani for the last one month, took out a march towards the main road on Sunday, 23 February.
Sources told The Quint that the protesters were marching peacefully when the police force lathi-charged. They further mentioned that due to the stampede children, women were also hurt. However, the police have refuted the charge.
As per the sources, people who were injured in the lathi-charge and the stampede were taken to hospital.
Later, the protestors also asked the shopkeepers in the area to close down their shop and sat at one corner of the road outside the park.
However, barricades were placed on the road to stop them from marching ahead. The protestors returned to the park, while others left the venue.
Earlier on Sunday clashes broke out between pro and anti-CAA groups near Jaffrabad in northeast Delhi which was gripped by tension when a large number of people who have been protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act blocked a road, reported news agency PTI.
Police fired tear gas shells as members of the two groups pelted stones at each other in Maujpur. For security reasons, the entry and exit gates of the Maujpur-Babarpur metro station were closed.
Gates of the Jaffrabad station were also closed and a large number of security personnel deployed as hundreds of demonstrators, mostly women, blocked a road near the metro station since the Saturday evening, demanding a rollback of the contentious act.
Police said no permission was granted for the march.
“The protestors tried to block traffic at multiple locations and also in front of arterial roads in front of the hospital,” said Atul Kumar, DCP (south) said, refuting the allegations of use of force.
He said many of the protestors verbally and physically abused the police personnel and pushed the female police personnel towards the barricades, bit them and heckled them.
"They were persuaded and later they returned back to the protest site. Police personnel on duty showed extreme restraint and perseverance in front of this sustained abuse and ensured the highest standards of professionalism. Many police personnel including lady police personnel were injured and suitable action as per law is being taken," he said.
Shawariya Muzaffar, a law student at Jamia Hamdard University, claimed they had blocked a part of the road, protesting against the CAA.
"The police lathi-charged with little concern for women and children," she said.
(With inputs from PTI)
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