Anti-CAA protests: Man fires gun near Delhi's Shaheen Bagh, taken into custody; no one injured

Days after a 17-year-old opened fire at anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protesters near Jamia Millia Islamia University, another man opened fire in Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh area on Saturday, according to several media reports.

#WATCH Delhi: Man who had fired bullets in Shaheen Bagh area being taken away from the spot by police. pic.twitter.com/lenDhRcWGD

— ANI (@ANI) February 1, 2020

According to eyewitnesses, the man shouted “Hindu Rashtra Zindabad” and fired two rounds, PTI reported.   No one was injured and the shooter has been taken into custody, News18 reported. The shooter, being led away by the police, said, “In our country, no one else will rule. Only Hindus will rule.” India Today reported that the shooter identified himself as Kapil, he is a resident of Dallupura village in East Delhi, neighbouring Noida in Uttar Pradesh. The police said they are verifying his identity.  This incident came even as Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath during a poll rally in Delhi’s northwest Rohini area alleged that those who support terrorists in Kashmir are staging protest at Shaheen Bagh. “The accused fired in air near police barricades. He was overpowered by police personnel and taken into custody. Further investigation is on,” Chinmoy Biswal, Deputy Commissioner of Police (southeast) said. A woman protester, who didn’t wish to be named, said the incident has created panic among them as well as children. “Many women and children were inside the tent when the incident occurred. We rushed to the spot after hearing a gunshot. Everyone is scared. But we won’t leave the spot,” she said. Notwithstanding the unnerving incident, many people thronged the protest site to express solidarity with the protesters. Many of them sung the national anthem while others offered namaz there. The protesters also raised slogans against the Delhi Police. Kejriwal and Owaisi slam BJP Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, reacting to the incident, took to Twitter to slam Union home minister Amit Shah:

अमित शाह जी, ये आपने क्या हाल बना रखा है हमारी दिल्ली का। दिनदहाड़े गोलियां चल रहीं है। कानून व्यवस्था की खुलेआम धज्जियां उड़ाई जा रही है। चुनाव आते जाते रहेंगे, राजनीति भी चलती रहेगी, लेकिन दिल्ली के लोगों की ख़ातिर, कृपया कानून व्यवस्था ठीक करने पर ध्यान दीजिए। https://t.co/sMg2BedUsJ

— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) February 1, 2020

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  Reacting to the incident, AAP leader Sanjay Singh said they had already warned the Election Commission that a conspiracy is being hatched by the BJP to postpone the polls. “There is no law and order in the country. The gun-toting men are making Delhi their bastion. We have been seeking time from the Election Commission since yesterday so that we can make them aware of these developments but they have not given us any time [sic],” he said. AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi on Twitter took the BJP to task:

A terrorist is one because he says so. For decades, "jo Hindu hitt ki baat karega wahi desh par raj karega" has been @BJP4India’s war cry. This man just echoed it

He’s forced you to choose between gunman’s side or the side of peaceful, democratic citizens

It’s as simple as that https://t.co/8kCedZWCY2

— Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) February 1, 2020

In a veiled attack on the BJP, the Congress said the shooter has changed but the ideology pulling the trigger in 1948 or 2020 has remained the same. Congress spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill tweeted, “Shooter changes but ideology pulling the trigger either in 1948 (Nathuram Godse) or 2020 remains the same ‘Goli Maro’ Hands which should be pulling India’s growth are now firing guns.”  “Instead of ‘Make in India’ focus is on ‘spreading hate in India’,” he alleged. Adityanath slams AAP Hitting out at the AAP dispensation, Adityanath said that the Arvind Kejriwal government “supplies biryani” to protesters at Shaheen Bagh. Addressing another poll rally at Karawal Nagar Chowk in east Delhi, the BJP leader lashed out at the anti-CAA protesters, saying “their ancestors divided India, so they have a grouse against this emerging ‘Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat’.” “These protests happening at various places in Delhi are not about the CAA, but it is happening because those people are questioning as to how can India emerge as a major power in the world, and to stop that rising India,” he claimed.   BJP leaders have been urging people to vote for the party in Delhi assembly polls on February eight to show their disapproval for the ongoing anti-CAA protest at Shaheen Bagh. Senior BJP leader BL Santhosh insinuated involvement of party’s rivals in the recent shooting incidents, saying the “great drama party of Delhi is becoming too costly for the country”. “One more drama today. This time the gun shot is near Shaheen Bagh. The acts are looking too dramatic to be real. Person brandishes gun…shoots couple of bullets…shouts some words against a community. The great drama party of Delhi is becoming too costly for the country,” he tweeted. On Friday, a 17-year-old youth who fired at protesters near the Jamia Millia Islamia university during an anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protest, injuring one, was sent to 14-day protective custody by a Delhi court. The youth was earlier produced before the Juvenile Justice Board, PTI reported. On Tuesday, BJP MP Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma said protesters at Shaheen Bagh could “enter homes and rape our sisters and daughters”. On Monday, Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur while addressing a election rally, had raised the slogan of ‘desh ke gaddaron ko’ (traitors in the country). The Election commission asked the BJP to remove both Thakur and Verma from the list of star campaigners. It also barred Thakur from campaigning for three days and Verma for four days for their controversial remarks. With inputs from PTI