Protesters ‘chased away’ by cops in Etawah at midnight

LUCKNOW/KANPUR The police ‘chased away’ anti-CAA protesters in Etawah, especially women, on the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday, alleging that they engaged

LUCKNOW/KANPUR The police ‘chased away’ anti-CAA protesters in Etawah, especially women, on the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday, alleging that they engaged in stone pelting.

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On Tuesday, women in Etawah and Azamgarh stepped out against NRC and CAA. In Etawah, a cop said women in good numbers took out a procession in Panchharaha area.

Later, they did not listen to the administration’s request to clear the road and decided to block the traffic and sit on protest, said a senior cop.

SSP Akash Tomar said, “They wanted to sit on protest like Shaheen Bagh and were planning to obstruct the road. We were trying to negotiate, but meanwhile a large number of people including males joined the protest by midnight.”

“When we were making efforts to keep the road clear, some stones were hurled at us. Fearing that the situation could worsen, we chased away the protestors from the site,” added Tomar.

Meanwhile, a 17-second clip went viral, in which women were asking cops why they were being chased away. Some other videos also went viral in which cops were seen chasing away protesters by wielding lathis.

Locals said cops asked some showkeepers to close shops and chased away protesters taking shelter inside the shops.

The police lodged an FIR against 12 identified and more than 700 unidentified persons including around 300 women, said a cop.