New Delhi | Jagran News Desk: Fifteen people have been arrested in connection with the violence in Daryaganj in Old Delhi during a protest against the new citizenship law, police said on Saturday. Initially, 10 people were held but five more were arrested later, they said.
Over 16 people including minors, who were detained by cops in anti-Citizenship Law protests, have been released by Delhi Police. "More than 16 people including minors were released last night against whom no violence case was registered. Nineteen people are inside the police station. The police are looking at the details for now and are sorting out," Mariya, an activist told ANI.
Forty persons were detained in connection with the protest and subsequent violence. Out of them, eight minors were released early Saturday. All the minors have been released only after their parents went to the police station to collect them.
Those arrested have been charged with rioting and using force to deter policemen from doing their duty, police said. According to police, the protesters had set ablaze a private car park at Subhash Marg area on Friday evening. However, the fire was immediately doused by the policemen.
As the crowd outside the police station grew, the police eventually let a lawyer inside the station and gave a list of all those detained inside.
A Delhi court has also directed SHO, Daryaganj, to allow detainees to meet their legal counsel in the police station. The direction was given by Arul Verma, Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Central District, Delhi, after hearing an application on late Friday.
The Chief Metropolitan Magistrate has also directed the police to provide the detainees necessary medical treatment as lawyers apprised the CMM that some of the detainees have been kept in detention in an injured condition.
"I deem it fit to direct SHO PS Daryaganj to allow the detainee to meet their advocates in terms of Section 41D of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC)," said the judge as reported by ANI.
Detention of minors in a police station is a flagrant violation of the law. The law is well settled in this regard. If there are minors, they would be and shall be, in case the need arises, dealt with as per the provisions of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, the Judge stated.
The detainees were taken into custody after the day-long protest turned violent in the evening and the protesters set ablaze a car parked outside the office of DCP. The Delhi Police resorted to lathi-charge and used water cannons to disperse the protesters, resulting in injuries.
The detainees were kept inside the Daryaganj police station and not allowed to meet anyone for nearly three hours and several protesters, media persons and lawyers surrounded the police station to demand that the detainees be released or at least be allowed to speak to someone.
A report by news agency PTI quoted Lok Nayak Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr. Kishore Singh as saying that two people had sustained serious injuries following violence at the protest.
"Hours after the violent protest near Delhi Gate, around 42 injured people, including eight policemen, got medical treatment at Lok Nayak Hospital. Two people admitted to the hospital have been seriously injured but their condition is not life-threatening at present. One person who has suffered a fracture in his leg is admitted to a ward," Singh said.
(With Agencies Inputs)