Anti-CAA protest call gets tepid response in northern Haryana

As a precautionary measure, the district administrations had appointed duty magistrates and put the police force on alert to deal with any untoward situation

A protest call against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) evoked a poor response in northern districts of Haryana as different organisations in small groups held protests at some places only.

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Also, no incident of violence was reported.

As a precautionary measure, the district administrations had appointed duty magistrates and put the police force on alert to deal with any untoward situation.

A march was carried out in Panipat with protesters, including labourers, raising slogans against the government and demanding an immediate withdrawal of the CAA to avoid division of people on basis of religion.

“The situation was fully under control. Section 144 of the Criminal Code of Procedure (CrPC) was not imposed as it was not required,” said Panipat deputy commissioner Sumedha Kataria.

In Yamunanagar, which has a considerable Muslim population, a group of protesters reached the mini-secretariat and held a protest and returned peacefully.

Yamunanagar DC Mukul Kumar said two duty magistrates were appointed to monitor the situation in the district and sufficient forces have been deployed to deal with any untoward incident. In Kurukshetra, a handful of people under the banner of the Jan Sangharsh Manch took out a protest march and accused the BJP-led NDA government of dividing people.

No protests were reported in Karnal and Kaithal districts.

“Precautions were taken and the situation was being monitored closely,” said Karnal DC Vinay Pratap Singh.