NEW DELHI: Violence erupted in the Jafrabad area of northeast Delhi on Sunday evening when two groups of anti and pro-CAA protesters came face to face, leading to heavy stone-pelting and vandalising of vehicles and shops in the area. The police and paramilitary forces managed to restore calm by late evening but the area remained tense. Fifteen people, including six policemen and two camerapersons were reported injured.Jafrabad — which was tense through Sunday as over a thousand men and women had gathered under the Metro station and blocked the main road to protest against the amended citizenship law — erupted when a group of pro-CAA protesters reached the Maujpur-Baburpur Metro station, less than a kilometre from Jafrabad, around 3.30pm. They were demanding that the police remove the barricades. They were led by former MLA Kapil Mishra, who had given a call on twitter for people to reach the spot for holding a demonstration in favour of CAA.The group assembled at Maujpur chowk, next to Jafrabad, and started shouting slogans. Around 4pm, it came under a volley of stones from the other side. Some people in the group retaliated and in no time it became a free-for-all. Half an hour later, with the situation getting out of control, police had to fire several rounds of tear gas shells and use mild force to disperse the rioters.Police and paramilitary personnel conducted a flag march in the area and appealed to people to maintain restraint. An FIR of rioting has been registered and the stone-pelters are being identified through video footage.Similar stone-pelting was reported from Chand Bagh , also in northeast Delhi. South Delhi’s Hauz Rani and Malviya Nagar too witnessed some police action to restrain anti-CAA protesters. Shaheen Bagh, however, stayed calm and the main road remained blocked with the SC-appointed mediators choosing to stay away on Sunday.The Jafrabad Metro station had been under siege since Saturday night with the main road being blocked by locals to protest against CAA. According to police, tension was simmering in the area since Thursday evening when Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar ‘Ravan’ visited northeast Delhi and addressed the locals, asking them to observe his call for a ‘Bharat Bandh’ on Sunday.Over 400 men and women had gathered under the Metro station in Jafrabad around 11pm on Saturday. The police tried to disperse them but could evict just a handful. The gathering started swelling in the early hours of Sunday with people chanting azaadi slogans. After police’s intervention, one of the carriageways going towards Gokulpuri and connecting with Wazirabad and GT Karnal Road, was opened and a rope placed to let two-way traffic pass.In the morning, the protesters had also erected a stage using “chaukis” and tables but police swiftly removed them. By 10am, heavy police force and paramilitary forces were moved into the area. However, by Sunday noon, the protest had spread to adjacent localities in northeast Delhi like Khureji, Maujpur and Chand Bagh. The stone-pelting at Chand Bagh was contained quickly by elders.Alok Kumar, joint commissioner of police (Eastern Range) said: “The situation is under control now but many people are on the street. We are continuously speaking to the local leaders so that peace prevails in the area.”The clashes, which broke out around 4pm, continued intermittently till 5pm, when the police conducted a flag march and created a buffer zone between the two protesting groups, deploying more than 800 personnel to prevent contact.Arvind Maurya, who works as a tailor near Maujpur Chowk, said that as soon as the stone-pelting began, he and two others at the store rushed towards the residential lanes near Sabzi Mandi Chowk . Maurya said there was stone-pelting in the narrow lanes as well with people rushing indoors for cover. “I saw a couple of people who were hurt and bleeding. People were offering help, using Dettol and cotton. We too took refuge inside and came out only after 6 pm to find out what had transpired,” said Maurya.“We have been asking them to move since last night but they have refused,” said the deputy commissioner of police (northeast) Ved Prakash Surya. “We are also in touch with their religious leaders and aman committee members to reach a possible solution.”Though the stone-pelting had stopped by around 5.30pm, provocative chants continued near the Maujpur-Babarpur Metro station from both sides. During this, the anti-CAA protesters towards the Jafrabad side had used ropes to block one side of the road for preventing clashes from breaking out.Mohammad Zakir, one such local stationed there, said both groups came face to face on the Jafrabad main road, with the pro-CAA group allegedly raising chants that were inflammatory. “The stone-pelting began and people from both sides became extremely angry. We tried to clear the area soon after so that any further incident could be avoided. The women sitting at the Jaffrabad metro station are being protected by men from the area,” said Zakir.