More than a thousand angry students waved Indian flags and shouted slogans at policemen
Hundreds of protesters assembled outside Delhi's Jamia Millia Islamia university on Thursday, taking policemen head-on and overturning barricades as anger swelled over the shooting of a student by a gunman while cops watched as mute spectators. Several students who managed to break past the barricades were taken into custody.
Tension flared in the South East Delhi neighbourhood after, a right-wing activist, fired a country-made pistol at a group of protesters who were taking out a march against the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
The incident stoked widespread outrage and protesters gathered in the area, demanding they be allowed to march to Raj Ghat - the central Delhi memorial of Mahatma Gandhi who was assassinated on the same day by another right-wing activist in 1948.
More than a thousand angry students waved Indian flags, dismantled barricades and shouted slogans at policemen who stood ready with water cannons, shields and batons. Despite repeated appeals to disperse, the demonstrators appeared in no mood to comply as the stand-off continued past sunset.
Before the firing, the gunman had gone live on Facebook, waved the weapon over his head and threatened the protesters with slogans borrowed from right-wing outfits, in events reminiscent of the grisly terror attack in New Zealand last year except this time the police were present on the scene.
However, captured on video and still images, dozens of policemen in riot gear were seen standing around and behind him, not acting till he opened fire, injuring a student.
He shouted "Yeh lo aazadi" (Here is your freedom) and "Delhi Police zindabad" (long live Delhi Police) before being taken away by the police for questioning. Saying that he was a juvenile, police officials said that the gunman cannot be named. His social media profile revealed links to the Bajrang Dal, a group with ties to the ruling BJP.
The shooting comes just days after senior BJP leader and Union Minister Anurag Thakur was seen prompting a crowd at a Delhi election rally to chant the slogan "Goli Maaro..." (shoot the traitors) in reference to protesters against the CAA which has been criticised as discriminatory against Muslims.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah promised stern action. "I have spoken to the Delhi Police Commissioner... and instructed him to take strict action. The central government will not tolerate any such incident, it will be taken seriously and the culprit will not be spared," he said.
Last month, policemen had launched a brutal crackdown on the university and its students after violence and arson at a protest in the area against the Citizenship Amendment Act going as far as firing teargas shells inside the library. Over 200 students and some 30 cops were injured in the clash.