Lone Shooter Opens Fire at Protest Against India Citizenship Law
The shooting took place near Jamia Millia Islamia University, and comes as Delhi heads to state elections on Feb. 8.
(Bloomberg) -- A lone shooter opened fired at a prominent site of protests against India’s contentious religion-based citizenship law in the capital New Delhi, wounding one person on Thursday.
The shooting took place near Jamia Millia Islamia University, and comes as Delhi heads to state elections on Feb. 8.
Videos and photographs of the incident showed one person nursing a bleeding hand. Delhi police spokesman Mandeep Singh Randhawa declined to immediately comment.
The shooting comes days ahead of a bitterly contested local election in New Delhi where two members of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party have made incendiary speeches directed at the protesters. The country’s independent Election Commission has barred both men from campaigning for several days.
Thousands of protesters have been part of sit-ins and demonstrations around the capital for more than a month to voice their opposition to the law they say is at odds with India’s secular constitution.
The new law bars undocumented Muslims from neighboring nations including Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh from seeking citizenship in India. It’s seen as a precursor to a nationwide citizens register that aims to weed out illegal migrants and which critics say is expected to be used against Muslim citizens by the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist party.
To contact the reporter on this story: Archana Chaudhary in New Delhi at achaudhary2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Ruth Pollard at rpollard2@bloomberg.net, Muneeza Naqvi
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