Delhi Police evicts anti-CAA protesters from Shaheen Bagh after 101 days to curb coronavirus outbreak

Amid the rising coronavirus cases in Delhi and other parts of India, Delhi Police on Tuesday (March 24) evicted anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protesters from Shaheen Bagh area in the national capital to curb the outbreak of the deadly virus.

It is to be noted that Delhi government has already imposed Section 144 in Delhi which bars the gathering of more than five people at one place. The anti-CAA protest at Shaheen Bagh started on December 15, 2019 and was going on for the last 101 days. A team of Delhi Police officials reached the protest site on Tuesday morning and urged the protesters to vacate the area. The police are now removing the tent and other materials from the protest site. It is learnt that some protesters were detained too from the protest site.

Notably, only five women were continuing to protest at Shaheen Bagh after the restrictions imposed by Delhi government on the assembly of more than five people. The protesters were present at the protest site even during the 'Janata Curfew' call given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to combat the spread of Covid-19.

Symbolically, the anti-CAA protestors, majority of whom were women, left their slippers on wooden beds present at the protest site.

The people of Shaheen Bagh, however, came out to their balconies and rooftops in huge numbers at 5 pm on Sunday (March 22) to clap and clang utensils as suggested by PM Modi to thank the work done by medical professionals, Army and police in fighting coronavirus.

The anti-CAA protesters at Shaheen Bagh have refused to end the stir despite appeals by the government, police and civil society members since the outbreak of coronavirus over the past two weeks.

The anti-CAA protest at Shaheen Bagh was going on at Road 13A, which is an important link between Delhi and Noida. The blockade of this road had created a lot of problems for people who used to travel between Delhi and Noida using this road.