Video Suggests UP Cop Opened Fire In Kanpur, Contrary To "No Police Firing" Claim

In large-scale violence that has gripped many parts of Uttar Pradesh since Thursday over the citizenship law protests, fifteen people have died, many of them from bullet injuries . But the state police continues to maintain that it has not fired a single bullet at protesters anywhere. Now, evidence that belies this claim has emerged from Kanpur where there were clashes between the police and protesters yesterday.

A day after protesters clashed with the police in Uttar Pradesh over the contentious citizenship law, a video has emerged in which a policeman in Kanpur can be seen opening fire with his revolver. The video comes even as Uttar Pradesh Police maintains that that none of the people who died in the state after the protests were killed in police firing.

Kanpur was among the Uttar Pradesh towns where fresh violence broke out on Saturday. Protesters had set fire to a police post.

In the video, the policeman, wearing a safety jacket and a helmet, can be seen walking at the site of the clashes with a revolver and baton. He can be seen walking to a corner and opening fire.

Denying that anyone died in police firing since the protests broke out on Thursday, UP police chief OP Singh had told NDTV on Saturday, "We did not shoot even a single bullet."

Another officer has alleged that only there protesters are using firearms in the ongoing violence. The Uttar Pradesh police have also said that 57 policemen have been injured by firearms. Overall, 263 policemen have sustained injuries in the violence in the state since Thursday.

"Over 400 empty cartridges have been recovered across UP. It proves that protesters were firing with country-made weapons and that those who died in their fire were either innocent by-standers or part of the mob themselves," Uttar Pradesh Inspector General (Law and Order) Praveen Kumar said.

Thirteen people died in protests held across 13 districts of Uttar Pradesh Friday. The list includes Saharanpur, Deoband, Shamli, Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, Ghaziabad, Hapur, Sambhal, Aligarh, Bahraich, Ferozabad, Kanpur, Bhadohi and Gorakhpur. Parts of the state are under prohibitory orders and internet has been unplugged. 705 people have been arrested and the police have filed 124 cases.

The Citizenship (Amendment) Act for the first time makes religion the test of citizenship in India. The government says it will help minorities from three Muslim-dominated countries to get citizenship if they fled to India because of religious persecution. Critics say it is designed to discriminate against Muslims and violates the secular principles of the constitution.