Delhi Police have denied that they are looking for a temporary jail at this point (File)
Delhi Police last week applied for permission to build a temporary jail in a stadium in the northwest of the city, describing it as a necessary move "in view of protests going on in whole of Delhi against Citizenship Amendment Act". In a letter dated January 29 - a copy of which is with NDTV - the police expressed fears "some protesters may deliberately adopt unconstitutional or violent ways" that could lead to a breakdown in law and order in the national capital ahead of Sunday's Assembly election.
The police clarified today that the request had been submitted at a time when anti-citizenship law protesters had planned a human chain from Jamia Millia Islamia to Rajghat - something that never happened - and therefore the letter had no validity now. "During the last few days no letter has been written for a temporary jail," a police statement said.
Earlier today Delhi government sources said the letter, which asked to turn a stadium in the Kanjhawala area of the national capital into a temporary jail, had been forwarded to Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal's office, which would issue the final notification.
News of the letter comes amid fears Delhi police are planning a large-scale crackdown on peaceful anti-citizenship law protests across the city, including the one at Shaheen Bagh.
Delhi Police say the letter was sent last month and has no validity today
The Shaheen Bagh site, where over 200 women have braved the Delhi winter to agitate against the law, has emerged as the epicentre of nationwide protests and also as the main target of the BJP's vitriolic attacks as the party tries to make it the focus of Delhi polls.
Earlier today Union Minister Giriraj Singh claimed Shaheen Bagh had become a breeding ground for suicide bombers conspiring against the country from the capital.
The outrageous comment was simply the latest in a long line of shocking comments by BJP MPs and leaders, including Union Minister of State Anurag Thakur, who was caught on camera at an election rally, chanting the first half of a slogan that concludes with a call to gun down traitors - the term by which anti-citizenship law protesters have frequently been called.
The BJP has also hit out at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over Shaheen Bagh, as it and Mr Kejriwal's AAP, which is in power in the city, play a blame game over a protest critics say has inconvenienced people travelling through south Delhi towards Noida.
Mr Kejriwal responded by challenging Union Home Minister Amit Shah - under whom Delhi Police rolls up - to clear up the protest site, alleging the BJP would refrained from acting against the protesters till after the election because the party "has no other issue".
Arvind Kejriwal also said that if his government had control over the police - a long-standing bone of contention between the AAP and the central government -, then "we would have cleared the area within two hours".