Midnight Drama In Delhi's Daryaganj As Police Crackdown On Protesters, More Than 40 Detained

It was all-out chaos in Delhi's Daryaganj area on Friday night after the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Bill took an ugly turn. It all began in the afternoon when thousands of protesters at Jama Masjid decided to march to Jantar Mantar.?

After they were stopped by the cops near Delhi Gate residents of Daryaganj also joined and the demonstrations were largely peaceful.?

However, the atmosphere changed after a car was set on fire, allegedly by the protesters.?

As the situation began slipping out of control, police moved in with water cannons and lathi-charged the protesters. At least 45 people, including 12 cops, were injured in the clashes that followed.?

However, the police denied lathi-charging the protesters, saying that they only used "mild force" and water cannons.?

Police also rounded up around 40 people, including some juveniles who were detained and taken to the Daryaganj station.The protesters then assembled outside the police station demanding the release of the detained.?

Several lawyers and doctors had also gathered outside the police station.?

As the crowds swelled, the cops released eight of them, who were proven to be minors.?

Police also said that they have only detained 19 people in connection with the violence and others have been either admitted to hospitals or have been released.?

Meanwhile, Chandrashekhar Azad, the Bhim Army who dramatically slipped away from the cops in Juma Masjid on Friday surrendered before the police later in the day. The hugely popular Dalit leader had made a dramatic appearance at the Juma Masjid after the Friday prayers, holding a copy of the Indian Constitution in his hand.?

Azad said he was inside the Jama Masjid during the protest against CAA.“We have to make sacrifices so that the legislation is taken back. We do not support violence. We were sitting inside the mosque since Friday morning and our people were not involved in violence,” Azad said, according to news agency PTI. He, however, slipped away through the crowd when police tried to detain him.?

Speaking to the media after he emerged again, the Bhim Army chief said the protests would continue till the government does not withdraw the “black law”. “Police have been attacking since morning...we have not attacked them. I have evidence to prove that RSS has planned this attack against us. We are continuing our protest in a peaceful manner,” he said.?

On Saturday morning areas including Daryaganj and Delhi Gate remained tense but no fresh violence has been reported.??