Xinhua News Agency, New Delhi, February 25 (Reporter Jiang Lei) Protesters and opponents of the amendment to the Indian Citizenship Law have clashed and caused riots in the northeast of Delhi in the past two days. As of the 25th, 13 people have been killed, More than 150 people were injured.
According to media reports from the New Delhi TV website and other media, on the afternoon of the 24th, supporters and opponents of the amendment to the "Citizenship Law" in northeast Delhi threw bricks at each other, and many people shot with guns. On the 25th, riots still occurred in many parts of the area. At present, 13 people, including a police officer, have been killed, and more than 150 others have been injured, of which more than 70 were gunshot wounds. The Indian government has deployed more than 6,000 police and paramilitary personnel in related areas to maintain law and order.
It is reported that the police announced a curfew in four areas in northeast Delhi from the evening of the 25th. Gaziabad, a Uttar Pradesh city adjacent to north-eastern Delhi, has blocked three roads to Delhi.
Amendments to the Citizenship Law were passed in the lower and upper houses of the Indian Parliament on December 10 and 11, 2019, and then signed into law by the President. According to the amendment, the Indian government granted citizenship to illegal immigrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan who believed in 6 religions and entered India as a result of "religious persecution" before December 31, 2014, but only Muslims were excluded. Once the amendment was adopted, it caused strong protests and riots. The riots began in Assam and Meghalaya in the northeast and spread rapidly throughout the country.