Gunman Opens Fire at Shaheen Bagh, taken into Custody

New Delhi, January 1, 2020:

Days after a shooter injured a Jamia Millia student for protesting against the amendment of the Citizenship Act, a gunman around 4:53 pm on Saturday fired bullets in Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh locality, which has emerged as the epicentre of nationwide protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act, news agencies reported.

The accused, who identified himself as Kapil Gujjar, was taken into custody by the police. He claimed to be a resident of Dallupura village near Noida border, reported the media.

Delhi Deputy Commissioner of Police Chinmay Biswal said the shooter fired in the air, and was immediately overpowered and caught by the police personnel present at the protest site.

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Videos from the site showed the man saying “Hamare desh mein sirf Hinduon ki chalegi aur kisi ki nahi [in our country only Hindus will prevail].”

Meanwhile, NDTV has reported that the gunman allegedly shouted “Jai Sri Ram” when the accused fired the gun.

A witness told reporters that he suddenly heard gunshots and the person was shouting ‘Jai Shri Ram’. He had a semi-automatic pistol and he fired two rounds, and the police were standing just behind him.

It may be mentioned here that the Shaheen Bagh protest is an ongoing 24/7 sit-in peaceful protest, led by women, that began with the passage of the Citizenship Act in both houses of Parliament on 11 December 2019 and the ensuing police intervention against students at Jamia Millia Islamia who were opposing the Amendment.

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