New video shows anti-CAA protesters tried to set cops on fire in Meerut

AntiCAA protesters fired on the cops in which two RAF jawans and a local journalist were injured.

Meerut: The Uttar Pradesh Police have released a video clip which shows that the protesters in Meerut tried to set on fire about 30 policemen and Rapid Action Force (RAF) jawans who were inside a shop during the recent anti-Citizenship Act stir. The incident took place at the Lisadi Gate on December 20 when the protesters locked the shop from outside and set it on fire.

However, Meerut SSP Ajay Sahni reached the spot on time and rescued the cops and others inside the shop. The protesters also fired on the cops in which two RAF jawans and a local journalist were injured.

The video has been released by the state's police to justify their claims of being attacked by the anti-CAA protesters. It may be recalled that during the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests, Meerut witnessed violent protests, and as many as six people lost their lives. 

Although many of the bodies of those killed bore gunshot wounds, the police maintained that they did not shoot anything other than plastic pellets and rubber bullets. 

The Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police (DGP), OP Singh, had earlier told the press, “As many as 288 policemen were injured in violence that erupted across 21 districts. Sixty-two of them suffered firearm injuries.” 

The police said that a case had been registered and efforts were on to identify the accused. Notably, the Meerut Police have been probing links between the recent violent clashes in the city to the Popular Front of India (PFI). 

The PFI has reportedly been spreading its tentacles in Meerut since July 2019. The state's Home Department has recently recommended to the Union Home Ministry to impose a ban on PFI for allegedly fanning the anti-CAA protests across the state.

In a related development, Union Home Minister and BJP president Amit Shah will on Friday kick off his party's national outreach programme to counter the opposition's '' misleading'' campaign against the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 from Rajasthan's Jodhpur. Shah will address a public rally in Jodhpur as part of the party's fresh attempt to reach out to the masses and address their concerns about the Citizenship (Amendment) Act that has triggered protests across the country. Shah will also launch a toll-free number for people to give missed calls to register their support for the CAA.

Similarly, BJP’s working president, JP Nadda will be in Goa on Friday to address a rally on the issue. These rallies will be the first in a series of 30 that the BJP leaders will hold across the country to address the concerns and underline that the CAA cannot be conflated with the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the National Population Register (NPR).

The CAA was passed in Parliament’s last month to fast-track citizenship for non-Muslims, who have entered India from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, before 2015. Opponents of the CAA say the law is unconstitutional because it links faith to citizenship in a secular country and is discriminatory because it leaves out the Muslims. 

Several non-BJP-ruled states have opposed the legislation. Critics say the CAA, if combined with a pan-India NRC, could result in the expulsion or detention of Muslims unable to provide the documentation required for the exercise.