The cops use tear gas to disperse the protesters. (Express Photo) The cops use tear gas to disperse the protesters. (Express Photo)

Fifty students of Jamil Millia Islamia University were detained in Delhi after they clashed with the police during the Citizenship Amendment Bill protests. Although the university alumni claimed the students were peacefully protesting against the Bill, there were reports of stone-pelting at the protest site, and the police resorted to lathicharge and use of tear gas shells to disperse protesters.

The police blocked the protest route by putting heavy barricades outside the campus, fearing violence, and detained those who tried to jump the barricades.

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Following this, the Jamia alumni condemned the allegedly coercive action by the police on the students and demanded the immediate release of those detained. “We, the alumni of Jamia Millia Islamia, strongly condemn the violence and brutality meted out by the Delhi police against the students of the University on December 13, 2019, in New Delhi. There is ample evidence through photographs, videos and ground reports that confirm that the police deliberately injured several students with batons, tear gas, shoes, and stones. While many students have suffered serious head injuries and fractures, dozens of them have been picked up by the Delhi police and taken to various police stations in the city,” they said in a statement released later in the day.

There were reports of stone-pelting at the protest site. (Express photo) There were reports of stone-pelting at the protest site. (Express photo)

A peaceful protest at the Marine Drive was disallowed by the police and were taken They demanded, “Immediate release of the detained students, action and inquiry against the police brutality and rollback of the Citizenship Amendment Act.”

They said that the Bill passed by the government Act sets religion as a legal criterion for Indian citizenship. “It is not only sectarian in nature but also against the democratic ethos of India. Many of us have not only acquired excellent professional skills from the University but also learned essential life lessons of co-existing, respecting and upholding the plurality and diversity that exists in India,” they added.

Students had earlier today announced a march to Parliament to protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill. However, they were stopped near the university where they clashed with the police.

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