This was the second time in three days that protest marches in Delhi ended in violence.
The Union Home Ministry was not pleased with the handling of the violent protest in Seelampur by the Delhi Police, sources told NDTV. At a review meeting today, Delhi Police chief Amulya Patnaik was asked to explain the ground situation at the spot and how the police planned to stop a recurrence of such protests in the national capital.
This was the second time in three days that protest marches in Delhi ended in violence. On Sunday, a posh locality in South Delhi became a war zone during a protest march organised by the students of Jamia Millia Islamia.
In the 30-minute meeting, Arvind Kumar, the Director of the Intelligence Bureau, along with Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla, took a first-hand report from several top police officers, including Special Commissioner (Special Branch) Praveer Ranjan and Satish Golcha, the officer in charge of Law and Order.
Sources said the ministry has asked the police to keep its Special Branch active, so real time intelligence can be generated before such protests can begin. The Special Branch collects information about dharnas and protests and passes information to local police, so they get adequate time to deal with any situation.
On Sunday, stopped from going to the city centre, protesters had targeted the police with stones, drawing retaliation. The police handling of the situation, especially their barging into the Jamia campus and manhandling the students, had evoked outrage and unleashed a string of student protests across the country.
This evening, a school bus was damaged and a police booth was set on fire as a protest march against the new citizenship law went out of hand at northeast Delhi's Seelampur. As around 2,000 protesters threw stones at the police and set fire to vehicles, the police retaliated with batons and tear gas. At least two policemen were injured, news agency Reuters reported.
The Police Commissioner has submitted a detailed report about the incidents that led to Sunday's protests in Jamia. The police also provided details about the two First Information Reports filed in connection with the protests outside the university.