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Anti-CAA protests: Bhim Army chief in police custody, minors among 40 detained in Delhi

The Jama Masjid in Old Delhi became the site for a massive protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act as Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad surfaced at the iconic monument holding a copy of the Preamble of the Constitution.

Anti-CAA protests: Bhim Army chief in police custody, minors among 40 detained in Delhi

Protesters gather by the Jama Masjid at a demonstration against the Citizenship Act in New Delhi. (Photo: AFP)

Following a massive protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act at the iconic Jama Masjid, which then spilled across Old Delhi near the Delhi Gate later in the evening, Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad, who had earlier escaped detention, was again detained early on Saturday.

At least 40 people including minors were detained following the clashes that broke out in the evening on Friday.

A case of rioting and arson has been registered at the Daryaganj police station.

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The Jama Masjid in Old Delhi became the site for a massive protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act as Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad surfaced at the iconic monument holding a copy of the Preamble of the Constitution along with posters of BR Ambedkar as he led thousands of protesters.

Interestingly, Chandrashekhar Azad had given the Delhi Police a slip on Friday during protests against the controversial citizenship law.

“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.

Tens of hundreds of people had turned up in the Jama Masjid area and raised slogans denouncing the newly-enacted law. Protestors carried posters of Mahatma Gandhi and BR Ambedkar at the rally and demanded that the new law be withdrawn.

As protests turned violent in Daryaganj on Friday, the police resorted to lathi-charge and used water cannons to disperse the mob.

This followed as protesters resorted to stone-pelting at the security forces.

At least 46 people were injured in the stone-pelting and police action. A vehicle was torched outside Daryaganj police station.

Thousands of students, activists and opposition leaders had hit the streets in the national capital on Thursday, defying heavy security clampdown and Section 144 even as authorities suspended mobile internet services and restricted traffic movement to quell the swirling agitation.

Besides the national capital, protesters in Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and six other states also defied prohibitory orders and marched on to the streets in a bid to bring national and international attention to their fight against the controversial law.

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