CAA notified: Intense night patrol, flag marches conducted in parts of Delhi

New Delhi: Following the notification of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, heightened security measures have been maintained in various regions of the capital city, including intensive night patrols and flag marches conducted by paramilitary forces in northeast Delhi, Shaheen Bagh, Jamia Nagar, and other sensitive localities.

Police said that they have also identified 43 hotspots in northeast Delhi including Seelampur, Jaffrabad, Mustafabad, Bhajanpura, Khajoori Khas and Seemapuri.

“We have conducted a flag march for the last two days. We plan to deploy additional forces to conduct more flag marches. A detailed list of criminals and troublemakers has also been compiled and they are under police surveillance,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (northeast) Joy Tirkey.

“We are confident that the situation will remain peaceful. We are also monitoring social media, and necessary action will be taken,” Tirkey added.

Heavy police personnel have been deployed in southeast Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh area where on December 15, 2019, a protest began in response to the passage of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) on December 11, 2019.

The protest at Shaheen Bagh, the epi-centre, had lasted until March 24, 2020. The protest was led by women who blocked a major road at Shaheen Bagh.

As Shaheen Bagh witnessed protests, which included students from Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI), against CAA, Delhi also witnessed one of its worst communal riots in the month of February 2020 which spread over 11 police stations of northeast District.

The unrest, which occurred in northeast Delhi, resulted in the loss of 53 lives and left more than 500 injured.