The minor shooter who fired at a protester near Jamia Millia Islamia had initially planned to target Shaheen Bagh and “had no remorse,” said Delhi Police on Friday, 31 January, after his interrogation, reported news channel NDTV.
According to Delhi Police, the gunman was influenced by social media, TV coverage and WhatsApp videos.
The police further said the 17-year-old wanted to create panic at Shaheen Bagh, which has been the centre of women-led protests in the country against the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act, National Register of Citizens and National Population Register. The protests have also led to several roads in the area being blockaded.
The teenager has been sent to 14 days’ protective custody. The police has also put in an application at the RML Hospital for a bone ossification test to determine his age, PTI reported.
He had told his family that he was going to school but took a bus to Delhi instead. He borrowed the pistol from one of his friends.
“He did not know how to get to Shaheen Bagh. An auto-driver dropped him off at Jamia and told him he could not go to Shaheen Bagh as the road is shut. He told him to walk it,” a police officer said.
After arriving at Jamia, the teen went live on Facebook, filming the protests and headed into the crowd, later pulling out his gun.
The firing incident on Thursday led to an intensification of protests across the national capital. Home Minister Amit Shah had said that the central government would not tolerate any such incident, adding that the “culprit will not be spared”.
(With inputs from PTI and NDTV)
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