A man was detained by the Delhi Police on Thursday from Jamia area after he was seen brandishing a gun and firing at people protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) near the Jamia Millia Islamia university

The man identified as Rambhakt Gopal Sharma, 19, was taken into custody and is being currently interrogated by the city police. An investigation has been initiated into the incident.

A student of the university was reportedly injured in the firing and has been admitted to a hospital. According to an official, the bullet hit a Journalism student of Jamia, identified as Shadab Farooq, in the arm. The condition of the student is said to be stable.

As per witnesses, the man was seen raising religious slogans before he opened fire with a countrymade pistol at the anti-CAA rally.

According to a report in NDTV, the man wearing a black jacket and a pair of white trousers was caught in a video waving a gun at the protesters as he shouts “Yeh lo aazadi (here’s your freedom)”.

“He was shouting ‘deta hu tumhe azadi’ (‘I will give you freedom’) and opposed our march. He later shouted ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and opened fire,” a protestor was quoted as saying by IANS.

The attacker is learnt to be a resident of Jewar area of Gautam Buddha Nagar District (Uttar Pradesh).

Firing at Jamia… One protester injured#JamiaProtests pic.twitter.com/urLWjs1W1S

— Ameed محمد عمید (@being__Ameed) January 30, 2020

The Jamia Coordination Committee (JCC) had organised a protest march against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC), from Jamia to Raj Ghat.

The passing of the controversial Citizenship Bill has triggered countrywide protests and since it becoming a law, citizens especially students have taken to the streets in protest against the legislation.

The amended law seeks to provide citizenship to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who have faced religious persecution in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan and have arrived in India on or before December 31, 2014.

Those who are opposed to the legislation have said that it is for the first time that India will grant citizenship on the basis of religion which violates the basic tenets of the country’s constitution.

However, the government and ruling BJP has been defending the act saying that the minority groups from the three countries have no other option but to come to India when they face religious persecution there.