The firebrand Hindu governor of Uttar Pradesh has sent riot police on to the streets as part of a brutal crackdown on dissent

The crowd scattered and word spread up the street in panic: “Police, police.” While protesters scrambled to flee over the rooftops of the block in old Lucknow, dozens of officers burst in below, raining blows on women and children. The Muslim families cowered from their attackers.

“Take her veil off, check if she’s a man,” one officer yelled, pointing to Salma Hussain, 29, who wept as she recalled the humiliation. The women were groped and officers commented on their breasts as they beat them.

“One man put a gun to my head,” said Tabasum Raza, 26. “He said: ‘Tell me where the men are hiding or I’ll shoot you.’”

Tens of thousands of protesters have taken to the streets across India to show their opposition to the citizenship act, forced through parliament in December GETTY IMAGES

Some officers tried to stop their colleagues from looting but the mob was out of control.