Jamia Protesters Stopped During March To Parliament, Some Detained

Hundreds of people protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act got into a scuffle with the Delhi Police this afternoon after they insisted on marching towards the Parliament House. The protesters included students from Jamia Millia Islamia, its alumni and the locals from the surrounding areas.

Shouting "Kagaz nahin dikhayenge (we won't show any documents)" the protesters -- had started the march from the university. But barely two km away, they were intercepted by the police, who said the protesters did not have any permission to march to parliament.

The scuffle broke out at the last barricade when the protesters insisted on moving forward.  Visuals from the area showed some trying to jump over barricades as police in riot gear tried to stop them.

Some of the protesters have been detained by the police.

The clash came as the Supreme Court issued notices to the Centre and the Delhi government over the two-month-long protest at Shaheen Bang, which has come to be known as the epicentre of the agitation against the controversial law.

The court took note as a 12-year-old National Bravery Award Winner wrote to Chief Justice Bobde over the recent death of a four-month-old baby, whose mother had been taking him to the protest ground in the freezing cold. "No protest can be held in a common area for so long," the court said.

Along with Shaheen Bagh, the Jamia university has also been witnessing protests since the citizenship law was passed in December.

The CAA provides for citizenship for non-Muslim minorities from Muslim-majority countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan if they fled religious persecution and entered India before 2015. Critics believe the law, along with the NRC, will be used to target Muslims.