HATE SPEECH TO HATE CRIME
GOLI MAARO... Lone wolf shooter opens fire at protesters; Oppn calls it the fallout of hate slogans by senior BJP leaders COPS BYSTANDERS Policemen wait to restrain man until shot is fired; Kejriwal asks Centre to fix law and order in Delhi
NEW DELHI: A protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act at Jamia Millia Islamia was disrupted after a young man, later identified as a teenaged minor, opened fire at the crowd using a countrymade pistol, injuring a second-year postgraduate student on Thursday, eyewitnesses said.
The minor’s Facebook account, since suspended by the social media company, was filled with hate speech directed at anti-caa protests, especially those at the Capital’s Shaheen Bagh. Indeed, one of his recent posts seemed to suggest he was planning something drastic.
“Shaheen Bagh khel khatam... azaadi de raha hun (Gave over, Shaheen Bagh. I am giving you freedom),” he wrote in a post made moments before he began one of several short live stream videos from close to the place where he opened fire.
The injured student, Shadab Farooq, was taken to Holy Family Hospital at first and later to AIIMS trauma centre for his treatment where doctors said he will be kept overnight.
The shot was fired even as a group of policemen, many of them in anti-riot gear, stood and watched for several seconds before one of them made a move to restrain the attacker, who has claimed that he is 17-years-old and a student of Class 12 at a private school in Noida’s Jewar.
Eyewitnesses said the gunman shouted “Yeh lo aazadi (here, take your freedom)” before he fired the shot.
Union home minister Amit Shah tweeted saying action would be taken against those behind the incident.
“I have spoken to the Delhi Police Commissioner on the incident of firing in Delhi and have directed him to take strictest action,” he said.
By late evening, the investigation was handed over to the crime branch.
The firing comes towards the end of a fraught week in the Capital, which is going to the polls on February 8 even as the protests against CAA at Shaheen Bagh continue.
The ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is touting its track record, which is being questioned by the BJP. The latter has also sought to make the election one between pro- and anti-caa forces.
Earlier this week, Sharjeel Iman, one of the original organisers of the protest at Shaheen Bagh was arrested for inflammatory speeches where he suggested that Assam should be separated from India in the context of NRC.
MP Sanjay Singh said Thursday’s incident was waiting to happen after the provocative speeches given by BJP leaders. He also accused the party of trying to scuttle the elections.