Elders intervened to prevent escalation of tension, say locals in Aligarh

Clashes between police and violent anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (anti-CAA) protesters in Aligarh also led to a situation which threatened to harm the city’s communal harmony but elders and the police intervened to prevent an escalation of tension, the police and locals said on Monday.

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The old city area, which has a mixed population, witnessed confrontation between members of two communities during clashes between the police and protesters, they said.

Vishal Pandey, circle officer of Kotwali, said, “The situation during the violence became more alarming when groups of different communities turned against each other. The situation, however, was controlled with timely intervention of the police.”

In Turkman gate, members of a community got angry after some miscreants pelted a place of worship with stones, locals alleged.

“Some people used the incident to instigate youngsters. The situation de-escalated after elders of the community intervened,” said Sudhir Pal Singh, a resident of Turkman Gate.

At Bawri Mandi, less than a kilometre from Turkman Gate, there was a tussle between groups. Two police teams rushed to the spot, applied mild force and fired tear gas shells to disperse the crowd.

As the after-effect of Sunday’s clashes was palpable on Monday, locals and police had to intervene to prevent an argument between two shopkeepers in the Uparkot area from taking an ugly turn.

At Eidgah, where peaceful anti CAA protest is being held, only a handful of women from other communities turned up on Monday, a local said.

“Around 30 to 50 women from other communities used to join us every day but nobody turned up today (Monday),” said a 49-year-old woman at Eidgah, refusing to be named.

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Rumour mongering led

to violence: Police

HT Correspondent

letters@hindustantimes.com

ALIGARH: Sunday’s violence in Aligarh was the result of rumour mongering, a police official said on Monday.

“Miscreants floated rumours that police were arresting men from a particular community. This rumour was spread through messages and even phone calls and led to an overreaction by women that contributed to violence,” Aligarh’s senior superintendent of police Muniraj G said.

Women continue protest, fear crackdown

HT Correspondent

letters@hindustantimes.com

ALIGARH: A group of women continued their protest against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), National Register of Citizens (NRC) and National Population Register (NPR) at Shahjamal Eidgah, a kilometre from Aligarh’s Uparkot area, where clashes broke out between the police and another group of protesters on Sunday.

“All of us are worried that the police and local administration may attempt to vacate this place and stop our peaceful protest on the pretext of maintaining law and order,” said a young woman protester, declining to disclose her identity.

However, Aligarh district magistrate Chandra Bhushan Singh said the administration would not use force to remove peaceful protesters.