Six killed as Anti-CAA protests spread to new cities

Lucknow At least six people died as violent clashes with police rocked Uttar Pradesh on Friday while thousands rallied in Delhi and several other cities with tricolour and Save Constitution banners as part of raging protests across states against the amended citizenship law and the proposed NRCTaking the nationwide toll to nine in two days six people were killed during protests at various places in UP where police retaliated with tear gas shells and rubber bullets after protests turned violentDirector General of Police O P Singh told PTI that two people lost their lives in Bijnor and one each in Meerut Sambhal and Firozabad But officials reported a death in Kanpur as well Singh added that over 50 policemen were seriously injuredPolicemen resorted to lathicharge to disperse violent crowd PicsPTI40 detained in DelhiA car was set on fire in Delhis Daryaganj area and protesters hurled stones at security personnel near Delhi Gate while police used water cannons and lathicharged a large group of protesters to disperse the crowd The police detained 40 people officials saidSporadic violence was reported from other parts of Delhi Maharashtra and KarnatakaKerala border areas as well while authorities resorted to curbs on mobile internet and SMS services in various regions including in parts of UP Karnataka and Delhi Some groups however offered roses to the police to underline peaceful nature of their protestUS national joins stirAmong the huge number of antiCAA protesters at Delhi Gate a US national stood out for his support to an agitation in a foreign country Arnold name changed claimed there was a lot of solidarity in the US for Indian students and minorities opposing the new citizenship law Religion as a criterion for determining citizenship is fundamentally wrong he saidBJP allies JDU LJP protestThe raging protests also saw some allies of the ruling BJP voicing their concerns Bihar Chief Minister and JDU leader Nitish Kumar said the NRC will not be implemented in his state while another BJP ally Lok Janshakti Partys LJP chief Chirag Paswan said the protests show the Centre has failed to dispel confusion among a significant section of societyEarlier Congress leader K C Venugopal also said the law will not be implemented in the partyruled states The states cannot be forced to implement an unconstitutional legislation he told PTI However a top Home Ministry official said that state governments have no powers to reject the implementation of the CAAMeanwhile another official said the government is ready to accept suggestions if any from the protesters and asserted that various efforts were being made to clear doubts of the people about the new law40Noof people detained in DelhiMeant opinion poll not referendumWest Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday made a Uturn from her Thursdays remark over UN referendum on CAA and NRC Banerjee said she had only suggested that an opinion poll be conducted by impartial experts of the country the process for which could be observed by the United NationsNo one will be asked for old documentsNo Indian citizen will be unduly harassed by asking to prove citizenship by showing documents like birth certificates of parents or grandparents dating back to a period before 1971 the MHA said Citizenship of India may be proved by giving any document relating to date of birth or place of birth or both Such a list is likely to include a lot of common documents MHA saidKtaka min warns of Godhralike situationA video of Karnataka minister C T Ravi purportedly saying that a Godhralike situation may arise if the majority community loses its patience surfaced on Friday Just because the majority community here is patient you are trying to put fire everywhere If they too are enraged and if the limit of their patience is breached what happens thereafter mdash you need to look back once he allegedy says in the videoCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updatesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever