In the afternoon, three public buses and a fire tender were set afire in New Friends’ Colony. (Express photo: Gajendra Chauhan) In the afternoon, three public buses and a fire tender were set afire in New Friends’ Colony. (Express photo: Gajendra Chauhan)

A day after violence erupted in parts of south Delhi over the new citizenship law, Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said the police must be wary of “jihadists, Maoists, separatists” infiltrating student protests.

“I don’t know what happened at Jamia last night; we must be wary of jihadists, Maoists, separatists getting into student protests,” she told news agency PTI.

She accused the Congress of “whipping up people’s emotions” on issues like the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), saying it shows their “frustration”.

On Sunday, Jamia Millia Islamia became the centre of protests in New Delhi against the CAA, as police lobbed teargas shells inside the campus, forced their way in, and allegedly dragged students out of the library and the mosque, and assaulted them.

The police action came after over an estimated 1,000 protesters clashed with police and at least six buses and over 50 vehicles were set ablaze in Mathura Road, New Friends Colony, Jamia Nagar and Sarai Julena.

The same evening several students were injured in a clash with the police at Aligarh Muslim University during a protest against the police action in Jamia Millia Islamia in Delhi. Following the violence, the University administration decided to push forward the winter vacations and shut down from Monday. Similar protests have erupted in several educational institutions across the country in solidarity with the Jamia students.

Condemning the violence, Jamia Vice Chancellor Najma Akhtar today said over 200 students were injured in yesterday’s protest. She accused Delhi Police of entering the campus without permission when they were preparing for exams.

She appealed to people to not target Jamia and malign its image.

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