Days After Yogi Adityanath "Revenge" Remark, 28 Asked For Protest Damages

Over two dozen people in Uttar Pradesh's Rampur have been sent notices by the administration, seeking recovery for the damage caused in the violence last week during protests against the new citizenship law. Nearly 28 people have received notices, seeking a recovery of Rs 14.86 lakh for the damage caused to public property.

The crackdown comes after Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's promise of action on protests - "We will take badla (revenge) on them," he had said.

Rampur was among the Uttar Pradesh towns where violence broke out last Saturday. One person died of a bullet injury, protesters broke barricades and threw stones at the police, who responded with batons and tear gas.

Following the 22-year-old man's death in Rampur, four motorcycles and a police vehicle were set on fire.

The administration has also asked the 28 people to pay for the police helmets, batons and pellets that were damaged during the violence. Thirty-one people have been arrested so far and over 150 others identified for their alleged role in the violence.

Last week, more than 60 shops in western Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar were sealed as part of the crackdown by the administration.

"All properties of those involved in damaging public assets will be seized and auctioned to compensate for the losses," Yogi Adityanath had said after violence in capital Lucknow and Sambhal district. "They have been captured in video and CCTV footage. We will take badla, he added.

Fifteen people have died across Uttar Pradesh, many of them from bullet injuries, in violence during the protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act or the CAA. But the state police had maintained that it has not fired a single bullet at protesters anywhere. But, the police chief of Bijnor told NDTV that of the two protesters killed in the town, one of them, was killed in police firing.

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.